Junkosha predicts how catheter solutions will evolve in 2020

Joe Rowan, president and CEO of USA and Europe for materials specialist Junkosha explains why medical device innovations will pave the way towards smaller, cost-effective, catheter solutions in 2020.

In the world of neurovascular interventions and other complicated procedures, catheter manufacturers are being pushed for solutions that not only deliver complex treatments more efficiently but also provide cost savings at every turn. In what is becoming a highly cost-conscious marketplace, solutions including Peelable Heat Shrink Tubing (PHST) products that enable catheter manufacturers to advance efficiencies through streamlining their workflows and Multi-Filar active catheter solutions that provide increased signals into formerly inaccessible areas of the body, will go from being nice-to-have to becoming critical requirements in the future.

PHST saves vital time and money

The PHST market is an exciting area. As we head into 2020, newer innovations are adding to PHST’s wider capabilities, for example, Junkosha’s 2.5:1 PHST solution, which has been designed to equip catheter manufacturers with the highest shrink ratio currently possible in peelable fluorinated ethylene propylene. This solution enables catheter manufacturers to save time and money through a reduced number of shrink processes. Additionally, thanks to PHST’s “take-up”, it allows the use of cost-effective, lower tolerance, baseline materials in the manufacturing process, and enables the ability to reflow these easily into a single smooth construct. This results in a reduced total cost of ownership for the catheter manufacturer, which in turn increases the margin available.

Multi-Filar solution provides bright future for active catheters

Using precision engineered PTFE lamination technology, a new fine wire and cable solution within Junkosha’s Multi-Filar active catheter solution provides multiple signals through an ultra-small shaft, enabling a new generation of small, flexible and intelligent catheters to effectively push back the boundaries of current medical procedures. Single strand configurations are joined into a multi-filar assembly that can be utilized in electrophysiology catheters for applying pacing and recording protocols from inside the heart, ablation and balloon ablation catheters for atrial fibrillation as well as cardiac mapping. The Multi-Filar technique also allows for easier assembly of the signal or power wires into the final medical device, making the manufacturing process simpler and more cost-effective.

What next for this burgeoning market?

As we head into 2020, there are numerous challenges the medical tubing and catheter markets face every day in the US and European markets, including:

• Stringent regulation across all levels of healthcare.
• The need to not only make procedures less invasive for patients but also that can enable a wider variety of operations across harder to reach parts of the body.
• The increasing cost of healthcare, especially in the US and Europe, which places a huge strain on those looking to innovate and provide the best possible outcomes across the sector.
• The need to streamline workflows and processes, especially for catheter manufacturers, to enable vital cost savings and a reduction in total cost of ownership.

Although these various challenges differ around the world, they all require one thing – innovations. These are needed to not only improve patient outcomes but to provide clinicians and other end users with technologies that make their lives easier, reduce costs and save them time. For this reason, continuous innovation must be at the heart of the healthcare sector’s requirements. Without this, the unmet needs will continue to be just that, unmet.