At last week's MD&M West event, pioneers of sophisticated fluoropolymer application technologies, Junkosha launched its liner challenge by making a pledge to manufacturers — by partnering with Junkosha, they will not need a tie layer to improve yields for applications under 3.0 mm ID.
Junkosha’s liners are manufactured using the fluoropolymer material PTFE. Thanks to proprietary processing techniques, these new PTFE liners provide considerable robustness, are high in tensile strength, have superior consistency in elongation, and are available with ultra-thin walls to deliver increased flexibility and smaller outer diameters for increased catheter real estate. In addition, they incorporate consistent etched surface treatment to provide confidence of adhesion during reflow even in the most demanding tapered catheter designs.
Evidence of the robustness of Junkosha’s liner products has emerged through customer feedback over recent years. In a field that demands high levels of consistency and reliability, the durability has been welcomed by manufacturers of small format catheters worldwide. For example, in some situations customers had been considering the use of a tie layer, which is an additional thermoplastic coating on the outside of the PTFE liner, to minimise the appearance of small imperfections as well as increase the bond strength between the layers of the catheter. In doing so, however, they had added unnecessary thickness and stiffness, therefore finding that the tie layer limited the amount of stretch they could use in their manufacturing processes. Overall, Junkosha has yet to come across a customer application where the performance of its liners required the addition of a tie layer to meet performance or yield targets for the device.
Marc Simmon, former chief technical officer for Scion Medical and medical device design and development expert, explains: “If these high levels of reliability and resilience are broadly confirmed we can see a number of genuine benefits being delivered to the catheter manufacturing sector including decreasing costs, increased flexibility and stretch capabilities and overall, a reduced thickness of the construct. As we continue towards the need for smaller and less invasive procedures, these benefits will be a must in the future.”
Mike Winterling, Junkosha’s vice president of business development for USA & Europe, adds: “Consistent positive feedback from customers regarding our liner range has led us to formulate a package which makes it easy for customers to experience the product benefits for themselves. Naturally, it starts with a supply of free samples to match the customer’s application but goes further by providing a dedicated support team who will aid the development of the customer’s manufacturing process to meet or exceed their requirements at every stage. This proven approach has worked remarkably well with our Peelable Heat Shrink Tubing (PHST), FEP product.”