Biomedical Structures LLC (BMS) is growing. The biomedical textiles company will expand its medical textiles development and manufacturing facility by 10,000 square feet. The added space will support the engineering center for new product development and will increase the number of clean rooms available for textile development, according to the company.

In preparation for the expansion, BMS has appointed medical device industry veteran Jonathan Howe vice president of research and development. Howe will bring more than 15 years of experience developing solutions for the spine, sports medicine, and interventional cardiovascular markets to help BMS meet the precise performance requirements of these device textiles.

Prior to joining BMS, Howe was the former director of research and development at Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Spine division, where he activated, developed and led a global product portfolio designed to grow DePuy Spine’s market share, including the invention of new lumbar spine and cervical interbody devices. He also has served as the director of new product development for DePuy Mitek, a soft tissue repair and sports medicine device company, and as a product development engineer at JNJ’s Cordis, where he specialized in cardiovascular and neurovascular implants. Howe holds numerous patents and has launched dozens of products and product development programs. He received his BS in biomedical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and his MS in mechanical engineering and MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.

“BMS is thrilled to welcome Jonathan Howe to our R&D team,” said CEO Dean Tulumaris. “We are experiencing a tremendous demand for our biomedical textiles for increasingly sophisticated solutions across the orthopedic and cardiovascular markets. Jonathan’s track record of device development and innovative engineering approach are a great fit for our customers’ needs as they continue to evolve.”

“Biomedical textiles can provide the perfect solution for many medical device engineering challenges,” said Howe. “A cutting-edge medical textile developer like BMS is in the middle of a perfect storm of opportunity as device engineers look to improve performance and move toward more lifelike solutions for patients. I’m excited to join the BMS team with the chance to truly innovate on established designs.”

New ultrasonic and roll-to-roll triple cleaning capabilities are part of the expanded cleanroom space, which triples BMS’ 2011 total. BMS also has increased weaving capacity with advanced equipment to accommodate demand for vascular grafts, synthetic tendons and orthopedic tissue repair, and other woven textile structures.

BMS offers knitting, braiding, weaving, nonwovens, and composites, and uses biocompatible absorbable and non-absorbable materials in devices, drug delivery and surgical systems for applications such as bifurcated stent grafts, tapered tendon and ligament repair structures, and heart valve solutions.

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