OxySense® today announced the OxyOTR™ accessory system, an oxygen permeation measurement system to be used for oxygen transmission rate (OTR) testing with the OxySense® 4000B in packaging laboratories. With the understanding that the measurement of OTR is one of the most important functions of a packaging laboratory, OxySense® undertook the development and introduction of its OxyOTR™ system to give laboratories more testing options at a price well below that of traditional OTR measurement systems.
“We believe the OxyOTR™ accessory package is one of the few, and most compelling, OTR innovations in the past five years,” said Peter Gerard, president of OxySense®. “Several companies have offered OTR testing equipment for many years and their systems have earned a reputation as essential equipment for OTR testing, but we think labs will find many reasons to incorporate the new, cost-effective OxyOTR™ in their laboratories.”
The OxyOTR™ system is an add-on to the unique OxySense® 4000B solution, which has led to OxySense® becoming the packaging industry’s leader in providing reliable, non-invasive oxygen measurement and leak detection for modified atmospheric packaging (MAP), vacuum packaging, oxygen scavenging, closure seal, PET bottle and product shelf-life studies.
“The OxyOTR™ add-on is not intended to replace existing OTR equipment from industry leaders such as Mocon and Dansensor, but rather to offer a cost effective way of expanding a lab’s OTR testing capacity,” Gerard explained.
Equipping the OxySense® 4000B with the new OTR software and the OxyOTR™ permeation chambers yields a system capable of conducting an unlimited number of permeation measurement tests on packages and films simultaneously through a semi-automatic testing procedure, while still providing the same non-invasive oxygen measurements for which it is known. In addition, with the OxyOTR™ and the OxySense® 4000B, a lab can now perform OTR tests on “live” packages (filled with real product on real packing lines).
In a recent third-party market research study, analysts found that “OxySense® was the only supplier that offered a fully integrated system with the required operating and testing capabilities.” The study, which concentrated on identifying oxygen permeability analyzers, speaks directly to the unique capabilities awarded to the user by combining the OxySense® 4000B and the OxyOTR® accessory system as well as to the number of testing possibilities the solution offers.
In addition to enabling simultaneous testing of multiple films and packages, the OxyOTR™ accessory system also offers the flexibility performing headspace or dissolved oxygen analysis in finished packaging. The system also provides real-time data, graphic and data management capabilities, bar code scanning and production as well as interim and final reports by both sample and test groups.
“The OxyOTR™ add-on offers laboratories a distinctive advantage in being able to test finished packaging, even those filled with real product which have been sealed on the production line,” Gerard noted. This process is made possible through the OxySense’s® patented non-invasive measurement system.
The OxyOTR™ add-on for the OxySense 4000B is a semi-automatic system; therefore, users are required to take period manual readings to conduct testing, but this process has been made simple and easy with the addition of the integrated bar code sample tracking and logging software.
“The OxyOTR™ accessory system is designed to provide cost-conscious labs with something they’ve never had before – a cost-effective alternative for gaining access to, or expanding, their oxygen testing capabilities. We believe it’s going to have a big impact on the industry,” said Gerard.