S&S Plastics & StarMed develop product to help gastroenterologists
In partnership with StarMed, S&S Plastics, has developed an innovative product to help European medical professionals when operating in gastroenterology suites using hi-tech endoscopy equipment.
Around the world today, gastroenterologists rely heavily on endoscopic technology to investigate medical conditions which are increasingly common due to rising rates of obesity, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and gluten intolerance. Used to assist professionals in confirming diagnosis through biopsies, endoscopic technology further helps gastroenterologists treat conditions relatively safely and quickly.
S&S Plastics teamed up with StarMed to develop a new product that will help European medical professionals operating in gastroenterology suites using hi-tech endoscopy equipment.
The challenge
It’s essential to keep a camera lens clean during endoscopy procedures to ensure a diagnosis is not only swift but correct but that brings its challenges.
In order to solve this issue, StarMed designed and developed a new, innovative top for an endoscopy bottle. However, it was difficult to get the design ‘off the drawing board’ and into commercially-viable production.
The solution
Working in partnership with S&S Plastics and following a set of stringent procedures, S&S Plastics was able to successfully convert StarMed’s idea into a finished product.
Primarily, S&S Plastics’ role was to provide technical expertise, advanced machinery and materials as well as contacts to bring the product to market.
The S&S Plastics team then designed the precision part of the product in a fully-dimensioned CAD drawing. Once the drawing was completed, it was costed to ensure it could be produced cost-effectively. The S&S team then prepared the tooling for prototyping to finesse the part followed by a full-scale, plastic injection moulding run.
The technical specification of the product included the use of an advanced polymeric material to ISO 10993, USP Class VI medical grade polycarbonate. The finished product is also resistant to chemicals and heat to 126° Celsius and is autoclave-compatible.
The result
StarMed’s innovation helped bridge the gap between design and production with the introduction of a superior endoscopy bottle top. This innovation reduces cross-contamination during gastroenterological investigations which vary from those involving the oesophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, large intestine, colon, bile duct, rectum and anus.
StarMed’s new endoscopy bottle top performs to the world’s most stringent medical standards. All products are CE-marked and conform to ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 13485:2012.
Furthermore, the product’s USP 6 medical grade material means it complies with UK, European and USA standards. StarMed’s range of products includes the Endoflow water bottle and tubing and the new Scope Flow Pure, the premium version of Endoflow and features an integral filter in its cap to remove contaminants from the outside environment entering the bottle.
StarMed’s founder and owner, Justin Biggs, said: “We’ve worked with S&S Plastics since 2010 mainly designing and developing endoscopy accessories. They will recommend different – often advanced – materials to the ones we originally had in mind. That can bring a whole host of benefits such as FDA-approval when selling to the States.
“From the start, S&S understood what we wanted: Durability, thoughtful design, high quality, quick turnaround and value for money. That approach has endured.
“They keep on adding value. We identify the market gap, come up with the solution and a concept. S&S takes that outline idea and uses CAD to draw it up and they will often add to the design at that stage. Once we’re happy with it, we then progress to tooling, 3D design, prototyping and finally production. S&S does all of it whether that involves metal parts or not as well as any jigs and presses for assembly.
“It’s been interesting over the years to see what works in terms of aesthetics and functionality. We share a ‘can do’ attitude which conquers any problems we come across. We’re a reliable partnership.”
Richard Munyard, general manager at S&S Plastics, said: “Partnering with StarMed for over five years now, together, we’ve successfully designed and used state-of-the-art technology to produce a world-class portfolio of products. You can get almost reach perfection and I think we almost achieved that with StarMed.
“The healthcare sector continues to grow which is driving the demand for various technical products. This new endoscopy accessory is a neat example of what can be achieved. Simply put, what we’ve developed together is a bottle top. But the incremental gains we’ve made in its design and manufacture will assist gastroenterologists in procedures – both diagnostic and treatment – perhaps make them safer ,quicker and that all adds up to a star performing product for StarMed.”