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New technology offers improved fluid-handling capacity and strong, skin-friendly adhesion for direct-contact wound treatment, stoma care, and other applications.

An aging population and accompanying demand for wound dressing and stoma care technologies that provide better treatment than conventional techniques have prompted the medical adhesives industry to produce a new generation of product solutions. One recently proven technology is a highly breathable formulation with superior fluid-handling capacity called Avery Dennison® Thin Absorbent Skin Adhesive, which is poised to shift current market expectations of conventional acrylic adhesives.
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This method can be performed on multiple devices simultaneously or one at a time as quality control.

A variety of silicon-fabricated devices is used in medical applications such as drug and cell delivery, and DNA and protein separation and analysis. In applications such as drug delivery from implantable devices, the silicon device structure must have superior precision. In particular, the nano-channel size in implantable drug delivery membranes strongly determines the drug release from the implanted reservoir. An accidental difference in the nano size may translate into ineffective medical treatment or dangerous overdosing.
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Novel infrared fibers provide precision heating and curing of glues in medical device assemblies, improving workflow and design.

Adhesives are often used as the joining compound between substrates in the medical device industry. Typical applications for adhesives include tube-to-connector bonding, steel-cannula-to-hub bonding, and any other joining process. Adhesives work particularly well in the assembly of dissimilar materials where traditional solvent-welding methods are being eliminated due to workplace safety legislation and where other joining methods such as ultrasonic welding and laser welding are inadequate.
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This technique could help semiconductor makers create key components of long-lasting micro-electromechanical systems for medical implants.

A new method developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) offers a precise way to engineer microscopic cuts in a diamond surface, yielding potential benefits in both measurement and technological fields.*
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Key selection factors for OEMs to consider include wireless protocol selection, battery selection, operating-voltage and space constraints, and wireless receiver location.

Wireless foot switches for the control of medical devices are gaining acceptance and growing in popularity — prompting OEMs to design medical equipment for use with a wireless foot switch or to accept a wireless foot switch as a pre-sale or post-sale option.
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A new software tool aims to make computer-aided tissue analysis faster, more accurate, and more consistent.

Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System and their colleagues have developed a software tool that aims to make the detection of abnormalities in cell and tissue samples faster, more accurate, and more consistent. The technique, known as Spatially-Invariant Vector Quantization (SIVQ), can pinpoint cancer cells and other critical features from digital images made from tissue slides.

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Among other advantages, a new resin offers an attractive option for manufacturers seeking to move toward animal-derivative-free materials.

Material selection plays an important role in the design of a medical device or bioprocessing system. It can improve end-user satisfaction, product reliability, and manufacturability of the device, as well as simplify the 510(k) application process. Various certifications such as animal-derivative-free, USP Class VI, and ISO 10993-5 are just a few of those desired by medical device manufacturers and biopharmaceutical companies. As a result, Value Plastics, a Nordson company, has chosen to mold a large variety of its connectors with a new polypropylene resin in order to better fulfill customer needs and expectations. This material, manufactured by Flint Hills Resources, is represented by part numbers ending in “-6005.” This technical brief will explain the multiple benefits to manufacturers who incorporate this resin into their end products.

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