Originally Published EMDM September 2002
PRODUCT UPDATE
STS Biopolymers Inc.An echogenic surface coating heightens a device's visibility when ultrasound imaging is used to guide it during a procedure. Developed and manufactured by STS Biopolymers Inc. (Henrietta, NY, USA), Echo-Coat is a polymer coating that can be applied to a range of substrates.
"Physicians cannot always easily or quickly discern where the device is under ultrasound guidance and typically have to rely on tissue movement," explains product manager Sue Stalls. "Our coating reflects more of the ultrasonic beam and provides a bright and clear image."
The Echo-Coat coating is currently used on fine needles for aspiration procedures, breast localization needles, core biopsy needles, and coaxial introducer needles. The company also provides other coating technologies that are used on a broad range of medical devices. These include vascular and neurointerventional catheters and guidewires, dilators, cannulae, angioplasty catheters and guidewires, gastroenteral feeding tubes, urinary catheters and guidewires, blood filters, infusion catheters, and vascular stents.
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