PRODUCT UPDATE
Plasmatreat GmbH
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An atmospheric-pressure plasma technology that involves the generation of a significant concentration of atomic oxygen has been shown to be an effective means of sterilizing surfaces. This new application for the robust, high-throughput Openair plasma technology developed by Plasmatreat GmbH (Steinhagen, Germany) resulted from a partnership between the company and the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging and has been patented. By exposing medical device packaging surfaces to a plasma formed by electrical excitation of air, the technology inactivates a range of microorganisms that includes bacteria spores and mould spores. It offers an advantage over other methods of eliminating microorganisms for purposes of aseptic or sterile packaging in that the only consumable required is safe, readily available, and essentially cost-free compressed air.
The plasma system can be integrated into existing manufacturing lines, and the plasma applied in-line with other processes, thus maximizing productivity. The technology does not expose workers to noxious chemicals or radiation. Also, because plasma works on the surface only, it does not compromise the bulk properties of the substrate material. Besides this sterilization capability, the patented plasma system can be used to perform ultrafine cleaning, activate surfaces by means of selective oxidation processes, and apply nanoscale coatings that polymerize when applied.
Biomat snc
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A company that specializes in the researching, development, and application of surface treatments for medical device and diagnostic purposes offers both standard treatments that can be tuned to the precise requirements of the customer’s article needing processing and also custom methods that can be developed on demand. Biomat snc (Rovereto, TN, Italy) has expertise in cold plasma technology, chemical activation, and biological coatings. The surface modification techniques are suitable for customizing microplates and other diagnostic devices by enhancing their binding capacity, applying a biologically active coating, or introducing functional groups. In the case of other biomedical devices, the purpose may be to modify their wettability or biocompatibility.
Additionally available from the ISO 9001:2000– certified technology company are 96-well microplates for solid or strip-format immunoassays, which it manufactures with both standard and customized surfaces. The surfaces range from high-binding-capacity to no-binding-capacity and may be animated, carboxylated, or prepared with maleimide, streptavidin, protein A, protein C, concanavalin, jacalin, wheat germ, or other specialized substances.
Comco Inc.
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Microabrasive blasting equipment is available to treat the surfaces of small parts or localized sections of large parts. Comco Inc. (Burbank, CA, USA), which manufactures the handheld MicroBlaster tool and other systems, has an applications laboratory where sample parts can be tested to determine the microblasting method most appropriate for a customer’s cleaning, cutting, deburring, or texturing application. Its technology is particularly useful for manufacturers of medical devices and microelectronic devices and for companies performing precision machining.
Microabrasive blasting can be used to roughen the surface of guidewires and catheters to promote bond and coating adhesion. It enables the tube surface of needles to be textured selectively prior to overmoulding, and it can lightly abrade a surface to impart an echogenic quality or etched cosmetic finish. In the manufacture of vascular stents, this fine blasting technique is useful for removing surface oxidation and any pulse marks that may have been generated by the manufacturing process. In addition, pacemaker can surfaces can be blasted and thus given a uniform satinlike finish.
This surface treatment process involves a patented system of mixing air and abrasive media uniformly and propelling the mixture through a small nozzle at high velocity. Consistent results can be obtained quickly with a manual or semiautomated system.
Guyson International Ltd.
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A compact blasting cabinet that can be used comfortably by a seated operator can be equipped for use with a wide variety of blasting media. Deburring, deflashing, removal of scale, cosmetic finishing, and technical surface preparation can be performed at the Model SBP4 Euroblast blast cabinet from Guyson International Ltd. (Skipton, N Yorks, UK), which often is employed to process medical implants before they are coated. In addition to the standard version, a variable-height Select-model seated blast machine is available for manual operation or with automatic adjustment.
The blast chamber is 50 cm high at the back wall, 81 cm wide, and 61 cm deep. A large safety-glass window allows viewing of the brilliantly illuminated blasting enclosure interior, and a full-depth door on each side of the cabinet facilitates loading and unloading of components. A single suction-blast gun and a blow-off air jet are mounted on an adjustable telescoping bracket attached to the cabinet’s rear interior wall, leaving the operator’s hands free for manipulating components to be processed. The gun and blow-off nozzle are activated by foot switch. They may also, as appropriate, be held by the user. Two sizes of blast gun are offered, a smaller model for precise, concentrated blasting of components with fine details and a larger gun for fast coverage.
The blasting cabinet typically is installed with a cyclone reclamator to separate reusable blast media from dust and fines. A cartridge-type dust collector designed to maintain filter efficiency and optimize cabinet performance completes the system.
Fusion UV Systems Inc.
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A compact ultraviolet-light (UV) curing system features a radiation output designed to reliably cure pigmented inks applied to plastics, glass, and metal substrates. The Light Hammer 6 from Fusion UV Systems Inc. (Gaithersburg, MD, USA) offers marking machine OEMs a way to assure medical device manufacturers that their product markings for purposes of branding, unit identification, or use in measurement applications will be of high quality whether applied via screen printing, pad printing, or ink-jet methods. The system is CE marked and is manufactured in a facility certified to ISO 9001:2000.
Surface Engineering Associates
A fluoropolymer coating that is plasma bonded onto the surface of such precision devices as probes, sensors, micron-scale nozzles and orifices, and micromechanical and microelectromechanical systems used in medical, biotechnological, and industrial applications is designed to improve performance of the devices through enhancement of their surface properties. The Fluoropolymer NS coating and application technique was developed by Surface Engineering Associates (Eldersburg, MD, USA), the NS signifying the precision and small scale of the nanostructured coating. A customized precision vapour-deposition process is used to deliver the nonstick coating to the device surface with extremely tight tolerances, without clogging or bridging, and without damaging the substrate.
The USP Class VI biocompatible coating is bonded to the surface under ultrahigh vacuum at room temperature. Its application imparts to the substrate a low surface energy, enhanced resistance to friction and wear, a lower propensity to stick or seize, and improvement in the surface’s release and liquid-dispensing capabilities. Intricate components can be given enhanced hydrophobicity and a slick surface by the addition of a coating so thin the component undergoes zero dimensional alteration.
Erwin Steiger LaserService
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A specialist company offers services, project management, laser devices, and complete turnkey production equipment for laser-based processing of metals, alloys, plastic materials, and composites in medical device manufacturing applications. Erwin Steiger LaserService (Maisach, Germany) provides its systems for welding, cutting, drilling, soldering, marking, engraving, machining, and micromachining in cooperation with international laser companies and system integrators.
The highly compact diode-pumped Formula series of air-cooled lasers offer mean power outputs up to 40 W in the infrared region and additional wavelengths in the green and ultraviolet (UV) portions of the spectrum. They are suitable for marking metal and plastic and for micromachining, with high precision, nearly all materials and thin films used in medical device manufacturing.
The high-power and air-cooled diode-pumped Extreme and Micro lasers have mean power outputs as high as 230 W in the infrared region and additional wavelengths in the green and UV regions. They offer a very good price-to-performance ratio in high-speed marking and deep engraving and in machining, including micromachining.
A series of highly stable continuous-wave and modulated fibre-type laser systems for marking, welding, and micromachining use GTWave-Technology and have mean outputs up to 200 W in the near-infrared region. These complete the company’s portfolio of laser products.
AST Products Inc.
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A company manufactures water-based medical device coatings that contain no organic solvents. The coatings offered by AST Products Inc. (Billerica, MA, USA) impart a large variety of properties to device surfaces, among them lubricity, antimicrobial effectiveness, hydrophilicity, and low protein-binding performance. Parylene coatings are available as well. In addition to the coatings, the manufacturer offers plasma reactors for surface modification and precision cleaning. It can also supply video contact-angle systems that enable device makers to conduct their own surface analyses.
