Originally Published EMDM November/December
2001
WEB WATCH
Web-based Research Aids in Product Development
A review of useful Web sites that enhance e-business in the medical industry
Kelly Donoghue
and Katherine Sweeny
From design conception to manufacturing, medical OEMs can consult the Internet for an array of useful, informative Web sites. Internet resources for manufacturers include sites that outline material characteristics and availability; sites that issue descriptions of material biocompatibility and regulatory specifications; and sites that allow users to check inventory, purchase materials, and track selection and shipment.
Plastics and Processes
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Looking
to specify a medical-grade material? An on-line display of medical packaging
materials is available at www.eastman.com. The Web site, administered by Eastman
Chemical Co. (Kingsport, TN, USA), allows manufacturers to research the performance
properties and advantages of the company's plastics, as well as the processes
best suited for each. Brochures containing regulatory and biocompatibility information
are posted on the site to further aid users with material selection.
Ask the Expert
Not only does the Web contain useful, descriptive information on materials; it also provides medical OEMs with convenient access to the expert help that they require at the precise moment they need it. A new Web site contains a technical service feature that allows visitors to send questions and receive answers regarding materials, products, operations, and other facts. The vast network of resources is virtually limitless and offers immediate assistance for a wide range of customized questions.
Queries can be answered quickly and accurately at www.cyro.com, which caters to design engineers in the fields of medical devices, medical packaging, and injection moulding. The site's E'crylic Central Web portal includes four components: the TechKnowlogy center, Distributor corner, E'ssistance—a new supply chain management capability—and the company site for Cyro Industries (New York, NY, USA).
)
The
TechKnowlogy center offers a Web database developed by experts in acrylic moulding
and extrusion, compounding, and sheeting. Users have immediate access to FAQs,
technical information, fabrication tips, physical properties, and other facts.
They can also send questions on-line to Cyro's technical service centre that
will be answered within 24 hours. The site also offers free membership, which
includes a folder to keep track of previously answered queries and other information.
Members can also choose to receive updated product information and enhancements
via e-mail.
The E'ssistance feature enables ordering of regularly stocked acrylic items and indirect supplies as well as maintenance, repair, and operations. The distribution corner gives the company's distributors real-time access to information about orders, inventory, and availability of products. The company's Web site provides information about products, distributors, market applications, material safety, and company news.
Customized Catalogues
Many companies supplying the medical sector have enhanced their Web sites to stay on track with technological developments. Typical expansions include information on product design possibilities and more-advanced data and catalogues on material properties. By customizing a Web site, medical suppliers can help users to achieve faster, more-efficient results in product development.
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One
particular Web site, www.nusil.com, allows product engineers and material specifiers
to explore the properties and design possibilities of various material compounds.
The site includes an e-mail information utility that can be used to request
in-depth data on more than 400 fully characterized silicone compounds. Users
can then modify these standard products by specifying sets of properties. In
addition, users can specify properties required by a given application to find
out if a custom or a modified silicone compound can be suitably formulated.
The site also features a menu of the company's materials testing services, including
28 test regimens ranging from tensile strength to emission spectroscopy and
outgassing, all performed on the latest test equipment in accordance with ISO
standards.
Another noteworthy Web site belongs to a custom formulator and fabricator of open-cast thermoset polyurethane products. Mearthane Products Corp. (Cranston, RI, USA) redesigned its site to facilitate navigation, add more product information, and enable on-line ordering. The site, located at www.mearthane.com, is organized by product and market area in an easy-to-follow, colour-coordinated plan. Sections include research and design, industrial components, conductivity, technical materials supports, as well as company and contact information. A key word search function has also been added. To help users choose products, the site features complete technical specifications on Mearthane's line of solid, foam, and conductive urethane elastomers. In addition to custom products, standard shape and gear products can also be purchased on-line. Available shapes include sheets, rods, bars, tubes, and strips. A variety of sizes and custom formulations, including a range of hardnesses and semiconductive capabilities, are offered.
On-line Purchasing
Slowly but surely, e-business is being adopted by medical suppliers and manufacturers. On-line purchasing for the medical sector is expanding, tightening the gap between suppliers and purchasers. Purchasers can manage their accounts through customized Web site features, which eliminate paper transactions and allow OEMs to contact their suppliers directly.
Bayer AG (Leverkusen, Germany) is one company that is exploring the benefit of e-business. The company's Web site has been expanded to allow extensible mark-up language (XML) transmission for receiving and processing polymer and chemical purchase orders. BayerOne is an on-line, private exchange that users access at www.bayerone.com to manage their accounts with Bayer's polymers and chemicals businesses. The addition of XML capabilities allows the company to integrate its supply-chain systems with customers' order data. It also allows users to access customizable tools, such as order history, shipment track and trace, and product safety data.
From materials specification to purchasing tools, on-line resources for device manufacturers are readily available and easily accessible. Indeed, the examples cited here are only the beginning. The continued development of medical suppliers' Web portals will bring suppliers and purchasers closer together, improving the quality of communications in both directions, and providing new tools for quicker and better product development.
Copyright ©2001 European Medical Device Manufacturer
