Articles » 2012 » May 2012 » Product Announcements

New Extrusion Technology Facilitates Catheter Shaft Manufacture

Putnam Plastics Corporation has eliminated the traditional hand lay-up manufacturing process of medical guide catheter shafts with its new Tri-Tie extrusion technology. Putnam’s continuous technology builds the three-layer composite shafts without manual assembly and staff, resulting in improved product reliability and lower cost. Guide catheters commonly are used to access endovascular sites and deliver balloons, stents, guide wires, contrast media and other devices. These catheters are costly and challenging to manufacture due to complex shaft requirements, which include a lubricious inner layer, a braided stainless steel middle layer, and a variable durometer (measurement of hardness) outer layer. Product performance can vary due to poor bonding between the layers and at the union of the outer layer segments, where hinge points occur. Putnam Plastics’ Tri-Tie extrusion technology eliminates traditional manual assembly of multiple components with proprietary, continuous processing that creates a three-layer composite shaft with maximum adhesion between the layers for improved performance. It also provides a more gradual transition of the varying durometer outer layer without bonding or hinge points.

More info: (860) 774-1559; www.putnamplastics.com

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Dawar Technologies Offers New Touch-Screen Technology

Dawar Technologies is offering a new multi-touch projected capacitive touch (PCT) technology in a line of touch screens. The company’s PCT sensors are designed, manufactured, and supported in the United States at Dawar’s Pittsburgh, Pa., factory. The screens are all glass and support multi-touch gesturing such as flick, pinch, expand, tap, click and rotate. The screens consist of two ITO/Glass circuits and an optically clear adhesive that is used to optically bond the two circuits together. A decorative lens can be added to the front surface of the sensor to allow for product designs similar to tablet PCs. There are multiple cover glass lens options available including Gorilla Glass, Dragon Trail, Chem-Strengthened, Anti-Glare, Soda Lime, Heat Tempered, and Heat Strengthened. This lens also is optically bonded to the sensor layers to achieve high light transmission and low reflectance. A touch event occurs when a finger or conductive stylus interferes with the electric field projected above the surface. This change in capacitance is detected by the controller which interprets the X and Y coordinates of the event. Multiple fingers can be tracked simultaneously and the controller supports common multi-touch gestures.

More info: (800) 366-1904 or (412) 322-9900; www.dawar.com

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Flow-Rite Controls Introduces Customizable Coupler

A quick-connect coupler, previously only used in Flow-Rite watering systems for lead-acid batteries, has been adapted by Flow-Rite Controls Ltd. to serve as a separate product line on its own. The couplers are made of high-grade ultraviolet ray resistant polypropylene, non-swell Viton O-rings and stainless steel springs. These materials were selected for their particular resistance to corrosion. The couplers also are capable of gamma sterilization, eliminating the need for chemical sterilization or autoclaves. The couplers are designed to accommodate higher flow rates than other comparable devices on the market, according to the 31-year-old company. The pressure range is 0-100 psi, with a temperature range of freezing to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius). The device is fitted with an ergonomic push-in button for disconnection. Exclusive keyed connection options are offered for error proofing. The couplers are available in valved or straight through versions, and other options include private labeling and custom colors.

More info: (708) 704-7778; www.flow-rite.com

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Value Plastics Unveils Single-Use Clamp

Value Plastics Inc., owned by the Nordson Company, has introduced a new line of disposable sanitary clamps for securing fittings to bag ports and filters in the biopharmaceutical market. The PharmaLok clamps are designed to perform without the help of other medical devices, decreasing the complexity and unwieldy nature of such procedures, which reduces the need for existing solutions that consist of multiple components, according to the Fort Collins, Colo.-based company. The clamp can be operated with one hand. It works by resting the fitting in PharmaLok’s regulation-size slot, then lightly gripping the surrounding handles until three clicks confirm a secure connection. The hygienic clamps are made of a glass-filled nylon material that meets international sterilization standards. Value Plastics manufactures fluid fittings and other fluid management components used with the flexible tubing employed in healthcare and biopharmaceutical applications. Nordson, based in Westlake, Ohio, manufactures products and systems used for dispensing adhesives, coatings, sealants, biomaterials and other materials, fluid management, test and inspection, ultraviolet curing and plasma surface treatments. Nordson acquired Value Plastics in June 2011.

More info: (888) 404-5837; www.valueplastics.com

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Double Drive Medical Adapts Drill Technology for Surgical Arena

Lowes Companies Inc. had a great Christmas season last year, and Ratchet Solutions Inc. was a big part of its success—the young screwdriver company developed patented technology that allows continuous forward or reverse drive regardless of which way the screwdriver handle is turned. The company’s screwdrivers sold out one week before Christmas Day. The technology, as a result, sparked the formation this year of Ratchet’s sister company, Double Drive Inc., which applied the expertise to the medtech industry. Double Drive has launched the Double-Drive technology platform for surgical drills. According to the company, this driver spins two times faster than traditional drivers, reducing hand fatigue. The capability of the drill to spin in either direction allows the surgeon to seat or unseat screws faster than he or she could with manual or ratcheting drivers. The Double-Drive drill features no adhesives or lubricants, is completely constructed of stainless steel and limits both axial and side-to-side wobble. It also is fully autoclavable and reusable, has very low back torque for small torque applications, has high torque capacity, and can be configured for any handle type, according to the company. Medical-grade double drive drivers such as this can be used in any surgical environment that requires a manual drill, including spine, orthopedic, cranial maxillofacial, trauma and sports medicine procedures.

More info: (206) 787-0229; www.doubledrivemedical.com

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Polyzen Introduces Thin, Urethane Lay-Flat Tubing

Responding to a need for lay-flat tubing made from special polymers, Polyzen Inc. has introduced a thin-walled, small-diameter urethane tube. Usually, lay-flat tubing is made from an olefin based material such as polyethylene, which is synthetic. Urethane, on the other hand, is organic—a byproduct of fermentation. The tubes typically are more than 1.5 inches in lay-flat width, while Polyzen’s new flexible plastic product is less than 1 inch wide with a thin gauge. This type of tubing is being used in the medical arena as sheaths that function as barriers for colonoscopes, endoscopes, speculums, probes and other devices that need shielding from moisture, blood or bacteria. These sheaths are more cost effective than the severe cleaning or reprocessing required after the use of such instruments. Polyzen can produce its lay flat tubing with a gauge range from 0.001 inch to 0.005 inch with a tolerance of +/- 25 percent thickness. The tubing also can be extruded at a width of 0.25 inches to 3 inches. Extrusions are performed in a class 10,000 clean room environment. Polyzen is a Raleigh, N.C.-based company that manufactures critical disposable components and devices.

More info: (919) 319-9959; www.polyzen.com

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