Manufacturing & Packaging Articles
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Manufacturing Under Pressure: Is Lean Your Solution For Cost Savings?
7/5/2017
Changes in today’s medical device market and political atmosphere are causing manufacturers to re-evaluate how they do business in order to reduce costs. Can the Lean manufacturing approach to productivity and efficiency be the solution your company needs?
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Introduction To Liquid Crystal Polymers
8/23/2016
Liquid polymer crystals are important in day to day use, especially in medical device fields and applications. This article introduces liquid crystal polymers and discusses their origin, structures, behaviors, and uses in thermoplastics and fibers with potentially broad applications.
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Barcoding Standards And The Search For A UDI “Easy Button”
8/17/2016
As the FDA’s next deadline for the unique device identification (UDI) of Class II devices draws closer, medical device manufacturing companies are looking to further their UDI implementation, whether they are well on their way to success or they haven’t even started. Barcoding, or identifying products via GS1 regulatory standards, is essential for companies wishing to be up to date on UDI implementation. Unfortunately, companies may be delaying UDI implementation because they view the new regulations as something an organization can address quickly. This is not the case. This article discusses the importance of viewing UDI implementation as process that encompasses the entire company rather than just as a “quick fix.”
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How To Select A Pump For Surgical Ablation Applications
7/21/2016
Radio frequency (RF) ablation uses RF energy to ablate or destroy unwanted tissues. When delivered via a catheter, it offers a minimally invasive treatment for a wide variety of conditions, including atrial fibrillation (AF). These systems typically include a peristaltic pump to provide cooling or temperature control, and this pump must be able to produce and control the high pressures (up to 130 psi) required in this application.
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An Introduction To Manufacturing Execution Systems For The Medical Device Industry
3/24/2016
Manufacturing Execution System (MES) solutions have the potential to generate efficiencies, improve productivity, and simplify compliance within the medical device manufacturing industry. Used to manage production activities, this class of software typically provides the ability to schedule activity, deliver instructions to operators, synchronize manual activities with automated processes, and integrate with manufacturing computer systems to enable quality control, deviation management and effective enterprise resource planning (ERP), equipment management, and the documenting of floor activities for monitoring and reporting purposes.
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Metallographic Examination Of Medical Implants
1/19/2016
Metallographic examination has become an indispensable tool in the testing, quality control, failure studies, and post-mortem analyses of implantable devices. This paper presents techniques and results for examination of titanium-based acetabular cups and Co-Cr-Mo femoral hip stems and knees.
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Laser Marking Metal For Medical Applications
1/14/2016
Medical product marking and decoration is used for inventory control, process management and internal tracking, branding, and functionality. In many cases, lasers provide the preferred means of marking and identifying those products.
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Femtosecond Laser Processing Of Metal And Plastics In The Medical Device Industry
10/15/2015
Femtosecond laser technology works especially well for production of medical devices like catheters and stents, for medical and glass cutting and marking applications, and for 3D-structuring of ceramic material for dental implants. But perhaps the most interesting potential use is on a whole new class of bioabsorbable materials.
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Medtech Manufacturing: Elastomer Gaskets For Injection And Infusion Systems
8/12/2015
In medical engineering and in the pharmaceutical industry, elastomer gaskets are often used for injection and infusion systems in order to guarantee the integrity of the medication in the primary packaging. This article examines how different materials and production processes are leveraged to meet product- and customer-specific gasket needs.
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Cleanliness Validation For Medical Devices
8/12/2015
Residues on the surface of medical devices can cause implant failure and poor device performance. The main source of these residues is from materials used in the manufacture of the device, although contamination during the storage, cleaning and handling of the device is also known to occur.By Chris Pickles, Ph.D.