Material Customization Advantages for Delivery Devices—A Medtech Makers Q&A

By Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief

At the start of many medical device projects, one of the procedures tackled upfront is material selection. Finding the right building blocks with which to shape the device can be critical to its success. Hence, it’s important to identify the required characteristics that will truly offer the best outcome for the product. However, identifying a suitable material to provide those attributes can be a challenge.

As such, partnering with a supplier with the capabilities to provide custom material solutions can offer the key to success. Being able to express the specific benefits required from a material and having an organization help develop that formulation is a much better alternative to attempting to identify a suitable choice.

To help further explain the advantages that can be realized from working with such a partner and providing additional details on Confluent Medical Technologies’ specific customization program, Loren Bridges, Principal Manufacturing Engineer, responded to several questions. In the following Q&A, he describes the benefits of the company’s service and how it can assist medical device manufacturers.

Sean Fenske: What is Confluent Medical’s FilmCast Select™ program?

Loren Bridges: FilmCast Select™ is a materials customization program that enables OEM customers to intentionally select key performance attributes of filmcast PTFE and polyimide tubing. Through FilmCast Select™, customers can choose materials based on characteristics such as flexibility, strength, durability, surface finish, regulatory compliance, and optical clarity to align with specific device requirements. Supported by Confluent’s deep materials science expertise and advanced manufacturing capabilities, FilmCast Select™ delivers polymer tubing engineered to meet the unique demands of next-generation delivery devices.

Fenske: What types of materials are offered as part of this program? What are their physical characteristics?

Bridges: The FilmCast Select™ program focuses on filmcast PTFE and polyimide tubing with specific customizable features. For polyimide, customers can choose from standard polyimide, known for strength and transparency; glossy REACH polyimide, which is the standard polyimide made with a REACH compliant solvent; matte REACH polyimide, which is REACH compliant polyimide with a micro-textured outer surface for lower friction and stronger bonds; and lastly, Ultra Polyimide, which is also a REACH compliant polyimide with approximately two times the strength of standard polyimide.

For PTFE, customers can choose from three material formulations: FlexaCast for higher elongation, DuraCast for higher abrasion resistance, and UltraCast for higher tensile strength.

Fenske: How does Confluent leverage its materials science expertise in the customization aspect of this offering? What advantages are achieved through this?

Bridges: Confluent has worked both internally and with suppliers to address customer requests and regulatory challenges by creating variations of the standard materials through different processing or chemical conditions. The unique characteristics of these material variations can provide a competitive edge to a device in a crowded market, such as increased durability for multiple tool passes or device exchanges.

Fenske: For what types of medical devices is the FilmCast Select program intended to be used?

Bridges: FilmCast Select™ is intended for minimally invasive, catheter-based medical devices where precision, performance, and reliability are critical. This includes applications such as neurovascular microcatheters, large-bore aspiration catheters, electrophysiology catheters, and reinforced delivery systems. The program is particularly well-suited for devices that require thin walls, tight tolerances, and complex, multi-layer constructions, where small changes in material properties can have a significant impact on overall device performance.

Fenske: What makes this program unique? How does it differ from another company making recommendations on material selection?

Bridges: While many suppliers offer a limited set of standard materials, FilmCast Select™ integrates decades of medical device manufacturing experience with the multiplicity of options provided by a large material portfolio and advanced engineering tools. These tools include virtual performance modeling and cost modeling to help customers navigate complex tradeoffs, such as balancing flexibility with strength, to arrive at a single, optimized solution. This approach reduces development time, minimizes risk, and leads to device designs that have a competitive edge in both performance and production strategy.

Fenske: Does Confluent offer additional services or maintain expertise that complements this program? Can it be coupled with manufacturing steps, for example?

Bridges: FilmCast Select™ is fully supported by Confluent’s vertically integrated capabilities, which extend well beyond material selection. The program can be directly coupled with other manufacturing processes, such as catheter shaft assembly and balloon catheter integration. Since these capabilities are integrated within Confluent, customers benefit from a seamless transition from concept development to scalable manufacturing. This alignment between materials science and production ensures that the solutions developed through FilmCast Select™ are not only high performing but also manufacturable at scale.

Fenske: Do you have any additional comments you’d like to share based on any of the topics we discussed or something you’d like to tell medical device manufacturers?

Bridges: As medical devices continue to evolve in complexity, it is increasingly important to approach material selection with tailored solutions instead of a “one-size-fits-all” approach. FilmCast Select™ reflects a shift toward intentional material design, where performance characteristics are engineered to meet the exact needs of the application. By combining materials science expertise with advanced modeling and integrated manufacturing capabilities, we can help our partners reduce development risk, accelerate timelines, and ultimately bring more innovative devices to market with confidence.

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