Fraunhofer Silicone Institute Moves to Commercialize MEMS Applications

Hoping to capitalize on the predicted growth of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) technology, the Fraunhofer Institut Siliziumtechnologie (ISiT; Itzehoe, Germany) has formed a partnership with Standard MEMS Inc. (SMI; Burlington, MA, USA), a developer and manufacturer of MEMS technology. Under the agreement, Standard MEMS acquires the exclusive right to commercialize ISiT's silicon and MEMS intellectual property and know-how, and it will have full access to the institute's development facilities and personnel.

Some market sectors for microelectromechanical systems have a projected annual growth rate exceeding 20%.

Widely considered to be a pioneer in silicon-based R&D, ISiT has developed microsystems for medical applications as well as airbag-triggering mechanisms. Its new partner is an integrated high-volume MEMS supplier to companies in various market segments including the medical and biomedical sectors.

Prior to announcing the partnership with ISiT, Standard MEMS established a business unit focussed on serving the needs of the biomedical and biotechnology communities. The BioMEMS group, according to the firm, will work to further the application of MEMS technology to pathogen detection, highly precise surgery, biosensors, gene sequencing and analysis, and microfluidic applications. Clearly, access to ISiT's resources will benefit this group.

Anton Heuberger, the head of ISiT, cast the partnership as an opportunity for the German institute to profit from a market with a predicted growth rate of more than 20% in some areas. "SMI is an established MEMS company with a wide customer base," says Heuberger. "We will jointly explore new applications and uses for MEMS research which we lack the skill to bring to market acting alone," he adds.

For more information, contact ISiT, Fraunhoferstr. 1, D-25524 Itzehoe, Germany; phone: +49 48 21170; fax: +49 48 21174250; e-mail: info@isit.fhg.de; Internet: http://www.isit.fhg.de.

Kinematic Automation Inc. (Twain Harte, CA, USA) and CSP Technologies Inc. (Auburn, AL, USA) have joined forces to provide glucose strip manufacturers with a new packaging technology. Kinematic's SPC 3500 strip-processing center is designed specifically for use with CSP's Activ-Vial.

CSP's Activ-Vial has a patented flip-top design and a layer of moulded-in desiccant.

The SPC 3500 slits the strips, then opens, fills, and closes the patented vial, which is a one-piece, injection-moulded container and lid connected by a hinge. The lid is cooled on the container after moulding, which reduces the chance of tolerance mismatch and creates an airtight seal. The vial also includes an active liner of desiccant moulded into the container to eliminate moisture damage to the glucose strips.

Jack Dorazio, vice president of CSP Technologies, explains that the product was developed in response to complaints from end-users that the last 20 to 30% of strips in traditional packaging were routinely damaged by moisture. "There's absolutely no comparison between the maintained relative humidity in the Activ-Vial and that of other designs," he says.

The SPC 3500, developed by Kinematic, slits and packages 60,000 glucose strips per hour.

The ease with which the flip-top lid can be opened also makes the vial attractive to end-users, especially physically impaired diabetes patients, Dorazio adds.

Manufacturers will also benefit from the packaging technology, says Kinematic president Dave Carlberg. The processing center packages more than 60,000 glucose strips per hour and reduces production costs by eliminating the capping automation equipment needed for closing containers with separate lids.

"We feel this process will revolutionize glucose strip packaging," Carlberg says.

For more information, contact Kinematic Automation Inc., P.O. Box 69, Twain Harte, CA 95383, USA; phone: +1 209 5323200; fax: +1 209 5320248, or contact CSP Technologies, 2039 McMillan St., Auburn, AL 36832, USA; phone: +1 334 8878300; fax: +1 334 8878328.

The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) has announced that Prent Corp. (Janesville, WI, USA), a manufacturer of custom thin-wall thermoform packaging, will receive two medical packaging awards at its annual ceremony.

Thermoformed packaging designed by Prent Corp. to hold a hip stem has earned accolades from the Institute of Packaging Professionals.

Named best of category within the medical device category, a 100% recyclable double-barrier sterile hip stem package was designed by Prent for Smith & Nephew. The package can contain stems of varying lengths and profiles with minimal product contact. It was designed to allow numerous hip stem units to fit into one universal package, resulting in a 60% material cost reduction.

Packaging created for Becton Dickinson's Clear cornea scalpel will also be honored by the IoPP at its awards ceremony on 5 November. The Prent design suspends and immobilizes the sharp and delicate device within a sterilizable container. The package serves as a protective sterile shipper as well as a point-of-use product dispenser.

A Dutch supplier of laser technology has developed a new laser marking system that is suitable for medical applications and reduces reliance on special additives in products to be marked.

Traditional laser marking techniques rely on infrared light, which burns special additives in a substrate to make them visible. In contrast, the new system from Lasertec B.V. (Barendrecht, Netherlands) uses a 355-nm UV laser and introduces no physical degradation to the surface being marked. Instead, the technique employed by the company relies on the laser-induced reduction of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) molecules in the material to be marked. TiO₂ is a readily available reagent and is commonly used to whiten plastics. The laser component in Lasertec's system is supplied by Coherent B.V. (Utrecht, Netherlands).

A further advantage of Lasertec's system is that it is polymer independent. The technology can be used to mark on a variety of materials including polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, ABS, and polymer blends. Lasertec managing director Marco Bak says that this feature is attractive to device OEMs who do not want to commit themselves to more-expensive laser-grade plastics that are often required in infrared marking.

The company recently supplied a turnkey laser marking system employing this technology to Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. (Singapore) for the marking of delicate hearing aid components. Bak explains that the Siemens project presented a logistical challenge typical of the medical industry. "The problem was that they were using printing, which took place at the end of the production line. If anything went wrong, it was too late to correct it," he says, adding that the reliability of Lasertec's marking system resulted in reduced product loss. According to Lasertec, this technology also holds promise for catheter marking.

Bak notes that laser marking is suitable for medical applications because it eliminates the need for aggressive inks, which may pose health risks and are environmentally undesirable. According to Bak, the higher cost of laser marking systems is outweighed by the rising costs involved in satisfying these concerns when using conventional printing systems.

For more information, contact Lasertec B.V., Zeemanstraat 47, NL-2991 XR Barendrecht, Netherlands, phone: +31 10 2923631; fax: +31 10 2923639; e-mail: bak@lasertec.nl; Internet: http://www.lasertec.nl.