INFECTION and contamination control products company Tristel revealed yesterday that it has secured a licence for the import and sale of its Tristel Wipes system in China.

The wipes system, which has been protected by patent in China since July 2011, enables heat-sensitive medical devices such as ear, nose and throat endoscopes and ultrasound probes used in urology, obstetrics and gynaecology to be decontaminated and disinfected effectively and quickly.

Tristel, based at Snailwell, near Newmarket, achieved world-wide sales of £3.4million from the system in the year to June 30, 2012, out of total group sales of £10.9m, with the system having already established a significant presence in markets including the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Russia and Australia.

The licence from China, which as well as being the world's most populous country has a fast-growing health market as a result of increasing affluence, is now set to provide a further sales boost.

The wipes system comprises three individual wipes – one for cleaning the device, one for disinfecting it and one for removing chemical residues – with the entire process taking less than two minutes.

It is proven to be effective and also incorporates a traceability process to provide the user with an audit trail.

Tristel chief executive Paul Swinney said the company had identified several years ago that a class of smaller heat-sensitive instruments, which only have to reach into smaller cavities of the body, were being neglected by its competitors, who were focusing instead on the decontamination of larger instruments.

'We believe the wipes system has already established itself as the 'gold standard' for the decontamination of these smaller instruments in the countries where it has obtained regulatory approval,' he said.

'With the licence we can now seek to replicate this success in China, the world's most populous and fastest growing healthcare market.'