Technology news
ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTS
Application-Specific Meter Performs Tests on Multiple Analytes
An application-specific meter capable of performing tests on multiple analytes can be programmed to accommodate varying reagent batches and features. The PART (Personal Analyzer Rapid Test), developed by LRE Technology Partner GmbH (München, Germany) for OEM use, is designed for both wet and dry chemistry testing.
In addition to accepting a broad range of test-strip parameters that are currently in use, the system's hardware and software were developed with a modular design to make it compatible with tests 
that are still in development. Although the device has numerous applications in the medical, environmental, and industrial sectors, one especially promising area is in point-of-care diagnostics, according to product manager Joachim Dyck.
"Point-of-care diagnostics is the wave of the future," says Dyck. Patients increasingly will demand quantitative screenings in their doctor's office, he predicts, and a device such as the PART can help to make this feasible.
"The software gives quantitative results, not just pass or fail, and this allows the practitioner to follow the patient's progress," says Dyck. Another salient feature for this type of application, he adds, is PART's modular design. "A gynecologist and a urologist will not be running the same tests, and this user-programmable analyzer can accommodate their varying needs."
The desktop analyzer measures 262.7 X 244.8 mm and is only 72.4 mm high. The system can be configured for electrochemical and transmissive measurements, and evaluation software for strip calibration and for quality control of strip production—one of the analyzer's core applications—is available.
LRE's business focus is the development and manufacture of optical meters for analytical systems and amperometric instruments used in biosensors. "We are not just an engineering firm," stresses Dyck. "We are used to talking to manufacturers . . . production issues are always a factor during the development process at LRE."
The company recently expanded its product range to include high-end optical systems through a partnership with J & M Analytische Mess- und Regeltechnik GmbH (Aalen, Germany). J & M, which makes a spectrometer that measures cuvettes without light loss, develops and produces diode-array spectrometers for a range of applications.
INJECTION MOULDING
Hot-Runner Systems Reduce Material Waste, Increase Throughput
To precisely meet an application's processing criteria, mould size, and design as well as varying parts geometry, a company supplies custom hot-runner systems in service voltages of 230, 24, and 5 V. More than 1000 different nozzle types are available from Günther Heisskanaltechnik GmbH (Frankenberg, Germany), and intercavity pitches down to 11 mm are possible. According to marketing manager Eckart Spork, this capability has contributed to the company's growth as a tooling supplier to the device industry.
In one recent project cited by Spork that involved the manufacture of an eyedropper part, "Günther's hot-runner injection moulding process 
resulted in a 50% productivity gain, compared to cold-channel technology." Another advantage of hot-runner systems is the reduction of material waste, he adds. "This is especially significant in heavily regulated industries, like medical, where lost material may not be recycled," says Spork.
The company has also succeeded in eliminating some of the traditional drawbacks of hot-runner systems, such as restrictions on the types of materials that may be processed, involved maintenance procedures, and susceptibility to wear.
All of Günther's hot runners are externally heated and can be operated using the same controller. Building upon this architecture, the company recently introduced a modified 230-V system that can process thermally sensitive polymers. New heating elements and revisions in the nozzle adjustment area ensure that a homogeneous temperature is maintained as the material flows through the system. Modular nozzles allow most maintenance procedures to be performed on-site. And to reduce wear, Günther uses hard metal tips on the nozzles. The material's heat-conductive properties are specifically suited to thermally sensitive plastics that require high processing temperatures, according to Spork.
The 230-V manifold systems can be configured in h, cross, star, or t shapes, and can be fitted with nozzles of any service voltage.
MATERIALS
Liquid-Crystal Polymer Rivals Stainless Steel for Tubing Applications
Liquid-crystal polymer (LCP) tubing can be made three times thinner than tubing formed of polycarbonate yet still match the stiffness of the latter. LCP tubing, which typically offers twice the crush resistance of conventional plastic tubing, offers a potential alternative to stainless steel in such medical devices as endoscopic and laparoscopic instruments and biopsy needles, according to Precision Extrusion Inc. (South Glens Falls, NY, USA).
To produce the tubing, the company employs a proprietary rotating-extrusion-die technology that was developed and patented by Superex Polymer (Waltham, MA, USA). "This process," says Precision Extrusion president Mike Badera, "puts a particular orientation on the molecular chains in the polymer." It is this biaxial orientation, he says, that enables 
his company to modify such properties as wall thickness and tensile strength and to overcome certain structural limitations of conventionally extruded LCP. Both the grade of LCP used and the wall thickness determine the tubing's strength range.
"Because of its unique properties," says Badera, "LCP is being used more and more in the injection moulding process for the production of complex parts." The USP Class VI–approved material withstands repeated sterilization via autoclave, chemical, EtO, or radiation methods. Its additional benefits include dielectric strength of 1100 V/mil, a high melt temperature in excess of 500°F, use temperatures greater than 400°F, more than 20,000 psi tensile strength, and a flexural modulus of 2 million psi.
According to Badera, a patent is pending for a secondary operation—postextrusion polymerization—designed to further strengthen and improve the LCP material. Amalgamations of LCP and such materials as polycarbonate, he adds, are currently undergoing testing to determine their suitability for use in a variety of applications including catheters.
