Sourcing Suppliers of Machining Services
Finding a supplier that has a solid understanding of materials has a strong influence on the success of a product. Machining medical implants and instruments is a complex process. The properties of the raw materials and the production processes used to manufacture medical devices can present extreme machining challenges. For those and other reasons, medical device OEMs should invest...
Bicompartmental Knees Inch into Total Knee Market
The iDuo G2, from ConforMIS, targets only the diseased portions of the knee. Tissue and bone preservation has become a big deal in orthopaedics. When ConforMIS Inc. came out with technologies that not only precisely fit patients but also avoided removing bone, it was praised for its innovation. Although the company continues to improve its products, John Slamin, senior vice president...
Barely Scratching the Surface
A close-up of a spinal implant with a proprietary texture etched into the surface. Until very recently, there were a limited number of surface texture application methods available to designers and manufacturers of metal orthopaedic implants. The most commonly used were porous coated beads and plasma spray to provide on-growth surfaces to orthopaedic implants. Today, an increasing...
Using Green Technology to Machine Materials
A close-up view of a fixture holding nitinol tubing illustrates the accurate features generated by an MDP patent-pending, threading process. This unique grinding technology often eliminates the need for subsequent operations. (Photos courtesy of TESCAN USA/OBERG INDUSTRIES) Generating a feature in standard alloys can be challenging. Design criteria mandate smaller products, more-...
Additive Manufacturing a Hot Area in Orthopaedics
Additive manufacturing is getting attention for its ability to accelerate the product development process. The most common types of rapid prototyping methods are additive technologies, meaning that the model is built by adding material layer by layer. By contrast, subtractive prototyping methods create a model by removing material, typically by means of standard machining methods such as...
Best of Both Worlds: Stanmore’s Patient-Specific Implant Meets Robotics
  In 2012, UK-based Stanmore Implants is preparing to take on part of the world (the UK, Europe, and the United States) with a patient-specific knee system that integrates robotics. Although there are technologies that address patient-specific implant "My general view is that there’s an interest in robotics and computer assistance, and there’s an interest in...
Expanding Medical Textiles: Q&A with Biomedical Structures CEO Dean Tulumaris
  The demand for biomedical textiles continues to grow as device OEMs look for strong yet flexible fabrics to replace Dean Tulumaris, president and CEO of Biomedical Structures materials such as metal or plastic, and the movement is increasing competition in this segment of the industry. In a Q&A with the president and CEO of Biomedical Structures (Warwick, RI), Dean Tulumaris...
Metal-on-Metal Hips Need Better Lubricant
With the latest fallout surrounding metal-on-metal (MoM) hip failure being that it will cost the healthcare and taxpayer system billions of dollars, these devices need help. And now researchers from across the globe have made a discovery about MoM hips that could help improve future designs of the device. Did you know that the lubricating layer (graphitic carbon) in MoM hips is more like material...
Best Orthopaedic Technologies of 2011
Ok, perhaps these aren’t the “best” technologies of 2011 but rather my top five favorite orthopaedic technologies of the year. You’ll notice the common thread is the integration of electronics and other mainstream technology (i.e., iPod Touch) with implants. Researchers and device designers are helping the field of orthopaedics keep up with other segments of the device...
How to Design a Device Surgeons Really Want
MD+DI's Brian Buntz spoke with product designer Mary Beth Privitera about clinical observation in medical device design and physician feedback during the process. In the first part of a two-part interview, Privitera discussed the "human element of innovation" and much more. Check it out at MD+DI online. "The human element is the one common thread that is throughout the...