Materials & Manufacturing

Advances in materials and manufacturing are leading to better implants, prosthetics, and devices. Browse innovative developments in materials and manufacturing that significantly impact medical device design and production.

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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
LSA Laser, Plymouth, MN, announces the addition of femtosecond laser processing capabilities for medical device manufacturing. Femtosecond lasers are ideal in micromachining applications for drilling...
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Products: Materials
SABIC, Pittsfield, MA, introduces two new grades of high-modulus carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics: LNPTM THERMOCOMPTM EC006AQH, a 30% carbon fiber reinforced PEI resin for demanding applications...
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Features: Manufacturing & Prototyping
With the recent release of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s final unique device identifier (UDI) ruling, the race is on for medical manufacturers to comply with the newly proposed...
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INSIDER: Materials
Biodegradable Materials Could Transform Electronics
Researchers at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, led by Professor John Rogers, PhD, are taking on the challenge of health and sustainability issues simultaneously by developing a vast toolbox of materials—from magnesium and silicon to silk and even rice paper—to make biodegradable...
INSIDER: Materials
A team of researchers from UCLA and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, has developed a material that could help prevent blood clots associated with catheters, heart valves, vascular...
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R&D: Materials
Researchers from the University of Cambridge, UK, are working to develop portable medical tests and devices, which could be used to monitor conditions such as diabetes, cardiac function, infections,...
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R&D: Medical
A soft, wearable device that mimics the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the lower leg could aid in the rehabilitation of patients with foot-ankle disorders such as drop foot, said Yong-Lae Park, an...
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Products: Materials
RTP Company, Winona, MN, introduces new “ultra performance” compounds based on carbon fiber reinforced PEEK, PPA, PPS, and PEI resin systems to create the highest performing thermoplastic...
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Technology Leaders: Medical
Minimally Invasive, Maximally Innovative: Polymer Science and Extrusion Plays Vital Role
William “Bill” Cook started Cook Medical out of a spare bedroom in his Bloomington, IN, apartment in 1963. It was where he and his wife, Gayle, made guide wires, guiding catheters, and other small devices used in diagnostic radiology.
Technology Leaders: Medical
Determining what tubing to use in a medical device involves considerable research. Designers must investigate ingredients, performance, documentation requirements, sterility, and other qualifying...
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Applications: Materials
One of the most promising surgical options for treating spinal injury and deterioration of spinal discs is the use of artificial discs to replace the patient’s natural...
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Features: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Substantial legal requirements result in complex functional specifications for implant manufacturers. From the design, including materials, through production, the complete process chain must be...
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Features: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Medical device companies typically have a complex supply chain bringing products to market. Within their four walls, there are usually multiple...
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INSIDER: Medical
3D Printing Creates Implantable Heart Device
Using an inexpensive 3D printer, biomedical engineers at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, say that they have developed a custom-fitted, implantable device with embedded sensors that could treat cardiac disorders.
INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Improving Safety of Lithium Ion Batteries
A team of Washington State University (WSU), Pullman, researchers has developed a gummy battery material that, they say, could dramatically improve the safety of lithium ion batteries.
INSIDER: Medical
Diamonds and Silk Combine for New Imaging Tool
Silk and diamonds are the ingredients for a new kind of tiny glowing particle that could provide researchers with a novel technique for biological imaging and drug delivery. The particles, just tens of nanometers across, are made of nanodiamonds covered in silk.
R&D: Materials
Experiments by researchers at Rice University, Houston, TX, found that new biocompatible, stable, and inert materials they developed that start as flat slabs can morph into shapes that can be controlled by...
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R&D: Materials
Pierced Tongue Used to Control Wheelchair Powered wheelchair users, paralyzed from the neck down, can control their chair by sipping or puffing air into a straw to execute four basic commands that drive the chair....
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INSIDER: Medical
Creating Low Cost 3D Printed Prosthetic Sockets a World Away
A University of Toronto lab is partnering with an international NGO and a Ugandan hospital to use 3D scanning and printing to speed the process of creating and fitting sockets for artificial limbs. While 3D printing has been around for some time, a new generation of fast, cheap 3D...
INSIDER: Medical
Adhesive Shows How to Mend a Broken Heart
When babies are born with congenital heart defects, like a hole, time is of the essence to quickly and safely secure a device inside the heart. Sutures take too long and can cause damage to fragile heart tissue, and currently available adhesives are either too toxic or lose their sticking power in the...
INSIDER: Medical
Optimized Implant Coatings Can Reduce Infection
A team of researchers at Aalto University, Finland, developed a method to select new surface treatment processes for orthopaedic and dental implants that may reduce the risk of infection. Implants are commonly made from metals, such as titanium alloys, which are made porous during processing used to...
R&D: Materials
Researchers at The Ohio State University (OSU), Columbus, and their partners are building a database of new titanium alloys that, they say, will be used to reduce the stress that pins, plates, and...
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R&D: Materials
A new headpiece for brain stimulation technique, designed by engineers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, may considerably improve treatment of tough cases of depression. Computer simulations have...
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Products: Medical
Goodfellow Corporation, Coraopolis, PA, introduces a new line of glass capillary tubes available with inner diameters as small as 0.005mm and in a range of materials that can be sterilized, are inert, and are...
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Products: Materials
EOS, Novi, MI, is expanding its portfolio of additive manufacturing metals with NickelAlloy HX. The heatand corrosion-resistant nickel- chrome-iron-molybdenum alloy has a high degree of strength and resistance to oxidization,...
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Products: Medical
Haydon Kerk Motion Solutions, Waterbury, CT, announces its latest addition to the IDEA Drive™ line of sophisticated stepper motor controllers. The RoHS-compliant PCM4806E drive allows an encoder input to the...
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Products: Medical
Kaman Precision Products, Colorado Springs, CO, introduces the first eddy current sensor for position/displacement/ proximity sensing with a self tuning bridge, eliminating the need to connect to a...
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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Littelfuse, Inc., Chicago, IL, annnounces the SE Series of Gas Discharge Tube (GDT) devices in a miniature EIA 1206 package, making it the smallest GDT device on the market. The ultra-low capacitance helps ensure high...
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Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
XP Power, Sunnyvale, CA, announces its ECP180 series of low profile high efficiency “green power” open frame 180 Watt AC-DC power supplies. The medically approved units have an average active mode efficiency of...
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Ask the Expert

Ralph Bright on the Power of Power Cords
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Understanding power system components and how to connect them correctly is critical to meeting regulatory requirements and designing successful electrical products for worldwide markets. Interpower’s Ralph Bright defines these requirements and explains how to know which cord to select for your application.

Inside Story

Inside Story: Trends in Packaging and Sterilization
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Eurofins Medical Device Testing (MDT) provides a full scope of testing services. In this interview, Eurofins’ experts, Sunny Modi, PhD, Director of Package Testing; and Elizabeth Sydnor, Director of Microbiology; answer common questions on medical device packaging and sterilization.

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