4 hours ago
Surface treatments are available to improve function, ease of
use, service life, and patient comfort of medical devices and products. Surface
Solutions Group of Chicago
specializes in solving a wide range of functional problems at the surface of
devices, from guide wires to needles to tubing to cannulas. Here is an overview
of successes using coatings to improve the surface function of devices.
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5 hours ago
The market for medical products and devices
in Brazil, estimated at R$ 8 billion (US$ 4.5 billion) continues to expand.
From 2008 to 2009 the market grew by 6% and is expected to increase by more
than 10% in 2010 according to estimates by ABIMO - Brazilian Medical Devices
Manufacturers Association. The optimism of the
industry takes into account the prospects of growth in the Country, which might
surpass 6,0% this year. In the pharmaceutical market for example, predictions
point to a 13% evolution in 2010.
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9 hours ago
A patented technology known as Dual Path Platform (DPP),
intended for point-of-care immunoassays, offers a number of advantages over the
widely used lateral flow technology. A DPP assay device has already been
developed for HIV, as have prototypes for other conditions that range from
hepatitis C to influenza.
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10 hours ago
Two devices in one – that is one of the mega trends in
imaging diagnostics. The spectrum ranges from a combination of positron
emission tomography (PET) with MRI or computer tomography to a combination of
ultrasound with endoscopy. At MEDICA 2010, World Forum for Medicine -
International Trade Fair and Congress, to be held from November 17 – 20, 2010
in Düsseldorf, Germany, medical technology
companies and congress speakers will focus on innovative hybrid procedures such
as endosonography and its application in the daily clinical routine. Use of
these so-called hybrid procedures is increasing, primarily on cancer patients.
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10 hours ago
Ultrasound allows physicians to do much more
than just diagnoses. Sound waves have long been used for therapy, for instance
for patients with malignant tumours and too much hip fat. What is possible
using ultrasound will again be one of the main topics at MEDICA 2010, World
Forum for Medicine - International Trade Fair and Congress, to be held from
November 17 – 20, 2010 in Düsseldorf, Germany. With more than 4,000 exhibitors
from over 60 countries, it is the world’s largest international medical trade
fair and congress. While the latest developments in ultrasound technology will
be shown within the framework of the trade fair, many of the speakers at the
accompanying congress will present the various application options, for
instance in oncology. There will again be practice-oriented sonography courses
as well.
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11 hours ago
MEDICA 2010 presents innovative treatment
options
For people suffering from back pain, good
advice is often hard to find and expensive to boot. Back pain is a disease of
great medical and economic significance. Back pain diagnostics and therapy is
therefore an important topic at MEDICA 2010, World Forum for Medicine -
International Trade Fair and Congress, to be held from November 17 – 20, 2010
in Düsseldorf, Germany. With more than 4,000 exhibitors from over 60 countries,
it is the world’s largest international medical trade fair and congress. In
addition to tried and true diagnostic and therapeutic options, many new
approaches and developments – from innovative orthotic devices or bandages to
muscle strengthening therapies and implants for spine surgeons – will be
presented at the trade fair and congress.
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Sep 1
Planmeca
Oy, the largest privately owned high-tech dental equipment maker, is using Z
Corporation 3D printing technology to transform maxillofacial surgery, leading
to shorter procedures, reduced hospital stays, lower health-care costs and
improved patient outcomes.
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Aug 25
The Stryker Corporation’s highly specialized System 6 power
tools, which include high-precision handheld devices such as oscillating bone
saws, demand frequent manufacturing requirements for low quantities of these
devices. This presents an ongoing challenge for the
Production Group’s management team at the company’s main manufacturing location
in Kalamazoo. The
location is also home to the company’s Experimental Group, which investigates
new technologies, advanced materials, and various manufacturing protocols in an
effort to maintain optimal productivity for the company. Production Part
Approval Process (PPAP) protocols are strategized here as well.
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Aug 25
A contract manufacturer servicing original equipment
manufacturers in the endoscopy/arthroscopy, orthopedic, dental/orthodontic and
vascular markets has been making significant inroads into selling machined
components for medical blade applications over the last several years. This is
partly because of its customers’ increased use of Custom 465 stainless,
produced by Carpenter Technology Corp., Wyomissing,
Pa.
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Aug 25
In
2009, after more than five years in development, the members of an integrated
drug delivery device team from West, The Tech Group and Insight Product
Development gathered in Raleigh,
NC for a final round of usability
testing. This stage included mock self injection by perspective in-home
users of a proprietary device with the potential to challenge the
auto-injection market with a new, easy-to-use design featuring visual, audible
and tactile features to help end users comply with drug delivery instructions.
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Aug 19
Challenge: Homegrown Access
database to manage product data
PLC Medical Systems Inc. a
medical technology company specializing in innovative technologies for the
cardiac and vascular markets, was managing product data with a homegrown Access
database system. Requiring a great deal of manual intervention and paper
processes, something as small as a change in a Quality document required the document
to be printed out, old documents pulled from a folder and put in the new
version, and then brought from person to person (engineering, quality control,
operations) for sign-off. This setup did not have the proper tracking for who
was actually trained on a certain procedure, or who signed off on an
Engineering Change Order (ECO) and when. In addition, it did not allow PLC to
capture employee product knowledge should someone leave.
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Aug 19
The Project: Waters Corp. needed to create a single, common
software development platform for its technology tools and systems to leverage
its distributed teams’ expertise in order to meet the needs of its global
medical and pharmaceutical customers.
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Aug 18
In the race for convenient, single-use diagnostics, an emerging American company is bringing speed, ease of use, and affordability to the detection of bacteria. By applying a simple, yet revolutionary, idea to the old-fashioned Petri dish, BioNanoPore test kits show quantitative results in a matter of hours compared to the potential one to three days with traditional Petri dish methods.
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Aug 18
Product testing is a critical component in the development of a medical device. But how many engineers truly understand the importance of what are arguably the three most crucial tests for a medical device? This article reviews these three tests–cytotoxicity, sensitization, and irritation–and offers some insight that will ideally make them go more smoothly for engineers.
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Aug 18
Asking the right questions when selecting a high performance plastic for micromolding an MIS device could reap some great competitive advantages. This article will review the micromolding process and cover the important aspects of each question that should be addressed by the outsourcing partner, the OEM, or both.
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Aug 12
Ensuring the medical device packaging is sufficient to meet the
needs of all challenges during a device’s journey is as important as the
integrity of the device itself. This article outlines four key
considerations OEMs need to address in order to ensure they are
establishing a solid foundation upon which to build their package
testing program.
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Aug 12
The quality of 2D imaging has improved significantly over the years.
However, it still cannot compare to the wealth of information that can
be ascertained from viewing a 3D image. New technology offers 3D imaging
results from traditional 2D equipment.
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