When the smell of bratwurst fills the air and the cool wind has just a bit of moisture in it, you may be traveling between the enormous halls at the Messe Dusseldorf Center in Germany. Anyone who has visited this event in the past knows the sheer volume of attendees and exhibitors, making it difficult to find a company that may be able to aid with an upcoming design or development project.

With this in mind, MPO presents its annual series of Q&A sessions with a number of supply chain companies exhibiting at the show. Perhaps Saint-Gobain Medical will have the answers for your current development idea and help you get to the finish line faster. We spoke with Nathanael Battaia, general manager, at the company to get some additional insights on what Saint-Gobain does and how it may be able to serve you.

Sean Fenske: What technology or service are you emphasizing at Medica/CompaMed this year?

Nathanael Battaia: This year, we are excited to highlight our innovative smart catheter platform. We are developing next-generation catheters that integrate advanced sensors, which will be pivotal in the coming years. This technology will help to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of our customers’ delivery systems through comprehensive data collection and analysis.

At our booth, we will showcase this cutting-edge technology using our anatomical model—a silicone reproduction of the human vascular system. This model not only demonstrates the capabilities of our smart catheters but also emphasizes our in-house testing capabilities, including leak testing, deliverability, and traceability.

Fenske: What’s the most common challenge customers inquire about and how do you address it?

Battaia: For regulatory and sustainability reasons, customers are seeking fluoropolymer alternatives. Saint-Gobain Life Sciences has built a dedicated R&D platform with experts on different types of materials and applications, enabling new possibilities and opportunities to provide fluoropolymer-alternative solutions for the medical market. We work with our customers to identify functional needs and challenges in material properties, and collaborate closely with strategic suppliers to drive innovative solutions with new polymers that help enable new functions.

Fenske: If you could give one piece of advice to companies seeking a manufacturing partner before they make a decision, what would it be?

Battaia: Several suppliers can make components based on your specifications but only a few know in which environment and conditions the products they manufacture will be used. Thus, ensure your manufacturing partner has experience and expertise in your market and applications; this will make the difference.

Fenske: What are the forces driving medical device manufacturers to seek your technology/services over doing it in-house?

Battaia: Saint-Gobain Medical has the technologies, expertise, and processing capabilities to help design and manufacture the most complex medical device components. Backed by a rich history of advanced materials expertise, we help medical device manufacturers find the best solutions for their applications and manufacture their medical device components at a competitive cost, with outstanding service and quality. We can help solve our customers’ challenges thanks to our materials expertise and knowledge of medical applications so they can concentrate on their core competencies.

Fenske: In what ways is your company able to aid in getting a product (project) to market faster?

Battaia: Saint-Gobain Medical offers rapid prototyping, which is one method we use to speed a product to market. In addition, as a market leader, we can advise our customers on the design and materials of a component to make it more efficient or to enable manufacturing at a large scale at the best possible costs. Our customers can then optimize design and costs to accelerate product development.

Saint-Gobain Medical is located at Medica/CompaMed in Hall 8A, Booth/Stand L28.