Almost one in every four Americans has a tattoo,

according to a 2006 study conducted by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

However, this common procedure poses the risk of serious disease transmission to both the artist and their customers. Possible infections as a result of inadequately sterilized reusable equipment range from Staphylococcus Aureus, (including a potentially deadly, drug-resistant type of staph infection that has been reported among unlicensed tattoo artists in at least three states), to Hepatitis C and HIV.

Infection control areas in tattoo studios where reusable equipment is sterilized are often in nonvisible rooms as discussion surrounding infection control, and the equipment they use can often be seen to be as intimidating to customers.

SciCan, the world leader in tabletop autoclaves has developed a tattoo-specific machine that will not only optimize the sterility of reusable equipment, but will put infection control front and center – namely, right front of the customer.

Smaller, lighter and more portable than a traditional device, the ‘STATTOO’ is designed to be located right in the procedure area so customers can see the sterilization process and ensure they are receiving freshly sterilized instruments.

In addition, the ‘STATTOO’ can sterilize 10x faster (6 mins vs. 60 mins) than conventional devices – which is fast enough to sterilize between procedures – an industry first. This unprecedented speed greatly reduces instrument bottlenecks and provides tattoo professionals opportunity to increase the number of procedures possible due to the speed in which instruments can be introduced back into the workflow.

With an exterior design by tattoo artist Scott McEwan, ‘STATTOO is an extremely unique product offering for a community that continues to face more complex infection control challenges’ says Andrew Zwingenberger, National Sales Manager for SciCan Medical USA ‘with a look that compliments its surroundings.’

‘STATIM is designed to exceed those infection control challenges faced by the body art professional’. He continues, ‘quite frankly, this product will not only provide tattoo artists a distinct performance advantage, but we see this as an opportunity to show off their sterilization process – front and center – and generate dialogue about infection control with their customers’.

The STATIM 900 autoclave is currently not in production, but may return as a G4 version in the future.