Lu Rahman picks some of the stand-out moments and businesses of 2017.
Winning
The medical device sector is filled with innovative characters and companies. From research to the development and manufacture of new materials, technology and devices, the industry is on a constant quest to improve techniques and processes while maintaining a competitive edge within the production of products that offer health benefits to millions of people globally.
The public face of the industry is one which many of us have a keen interest in. Scott Whittaker, AdvaMed, is a prolific voice in the industry. Seen as a leading voice of the medtech world, Whittaker is recognised as a top health care advocate and policy expert with experience across multiple health policy sectors.
One of the most significant faces at the moment is of course, Scott Gottlieb, FDA commissioner. With a background in investment, as well as a stint as a consultant to the drug industry, Gottlieb’s appointment was criticised due to his links with the pharma sector. There was however, another school of thought which felt his experience with this industry would be advantageous in the new role.
Research
Universities and research institutes are a great source of content for the MPN team. Earlier this year scientists at MIT, Massachusetts General Hospital, biomaterial research group Olivio Labs, revealed how they had developed a wearable, silicone-based material that not only could offer the secret to eternal youth by tightening the skin to smooth out wrinkles, but could also have potential as a drug delivery system.
Working with biotech business Living Proof, the group has come up with a material that is said to be able to boost skin hydration as well as providing UV protection.
Meanwhile at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, a team created self-healing slippery surface coatings with medical-grade Teflon materials and liquids that prevent biofilm formation on medical implants while preserving normal innate immune responses against pathogenic bacteria.
The technology is based on the concept of ‘slippers liquid-infused’ porous surfaces’(SLIPS) developed by Aizenberg. Inspired by the Nepenthes pitcher plant, which uses the porous surface of its leaves to immobilise a layer of liquid water, creating a slippery surface for capturing insects, Aizenberg engineered industrial coatings that can repel unwanted substances.
One of my favourite technologies at the moment has to be soft robotics. Earlier this year Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital revealed some exciting work involving a customisable soft robot that fits around a heart to help it beat. The research has huge implications for anyone who has suffered heart failure.
According to Harvard, the soft robotic sleeve, “twists and compresses in synch with a beating heart, augmenting cardiovascular functions weakened by heart failure. Unlike currently available devices that assist heart function, Harvard’s soft robotic sleeve does not directly contact blood. This reduces the risk of clotting and eliminates the need for a patient to take potentially dangerous blood thinner medications. The device may one day be able to bridge a patient to transplant or to aid in cardiac rehabilitation and recovery.”
The device is attached to a pump that uses air to power soft actuators. Each sleeve can be customised for each patient and according to for example, the side of their heart where more power is needed.
“This work represents an exciting proof of concept result for this soft robot, demonstrating that it can safely interact with soft tissue and lead to improvements in cardiac function. We envision many other future applications where such devices can deliver mechanotherapy both inside and outside of the body,” said Conor Walsh, senior author of the paper and the John L Loeb associate professor of engineering and applied sciences at SEAS and core faculty member at the Wyss Institute.
Accumold
A key player in the micro-molding sector, Accumold has enjoyed a range of success in the sector in recent years. At the start of 2017 it reported 100 new team members and that it was looking to reach 450 employees in the next 12-18 months.
The company’s innovation team has recently been expanding its micro-molder capabilities by enhancing its insert / overmolding molding expertise. It says that the ability to overmold very delicate media like glass, fabrics or other very expensive inserts is in high demand.
According to Aaron Johnson, vice president marketing, Accumold: “We are deeply committed to three things – capability, scalability, and sustainability. We have worked hard to provide the most innovative micro molding capabilities we can. We know it can’t just stop there. In today’s manufacturing world there is little room, if any, for disruption. That’s why building an organisation that can grow with our customers and sustain the years to come is as important as the molding capabilities themselves. We’ve tripled our facility in the last five years. Our latest addition is a hardened structure designed with dedicated resources to provide assurance of supply. We believe our customers need to know they can rest assured when they partner with Accumold - their future is ours too.”
Clariant
Clariant is doing some really interesting work to combat counterfeiting. Counterfeit medical products pose a serious threat to the health of patients worldwide, as well as to the brand recognition of medical device manufacturers. The company has teamed up with security provider SICPA to help fight the counterfeiting epidemic with its collaborative system Plastiward.
Plastiward works by using proprietary taggants developed by SICPA which are delivered to Clariant’s Mevopur production plants. The taggants are then embedded into polymers used in medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging where they can be monitored in real-time using SICPA’s deployment and monitoring platform.
Steve Duckworth, head of global healthcare, polymer solutions, at Clariant said: “The quicker you can authenticate the quicker you can get real-time data and the quicker you can take action. One of the major advantages you see from the Plastiward system is you’re able to go into a warehouse to detect any issues and back in the HQ you’re able to see in real-time where the problem has occurred, and then take action.”
Vention Medical
It’s great to hear how companies are innovations and using technology in the medical plastics space. Vention Medical recently explained to MPN how embracing digital innovation in sourcing extrusions have helped design engineers to get products to market faster.
The company’s Katie Karmelek explained that thanks to these innovations, the quality of early prototypes has been improved, there has been a reduction in the need to retest materials later in the process and generally product development has accelerated.
She says that the three things that have contributed to this are online access to medical-grade stock tubing, rapid extrusion digital design tools, and quick-turn custom extrusions.
Invibio
We’re always keen to hear news about materials on MPN which was why I liked this piece about the congress of the Chinese Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (CAOS), Invibio Biomaterial Solutions of the UK, and China’s Double Medical Technology collaborated on an interbody spine surgery workshop to help expand knowledge of the implantation of Double Medical’s Direct Lateral Interbody Fusion (DLIF) spinal cages made with PEEK-Optima.
The biomaterial PEEK-Optima polymer by Invibio was introduced to medical device manufacturers in China after the approval by the China Federal Drug Administration (CFDA) in 2004.
Hosted in conjunction with the North American Spine Society (NASS), the CAOS workshop “Principles and Techniques of Complex Spine Surgery Workshop” took place in May in Guangzhou. The event was the fifth joint NASS-CAOS workshop and delivered a day of hands-on cadaver labs with over one hundred surgeons attending and multiple one-hour product demonstrations streamed live to the audience, including the demonstration of Double Medical and medical-grade PEEK innovator Invibio.
"The design of this state-of-the-art DLIF cage incorporates advances in medical technology contributed by both our companies," commented Michael Veldman, global strategic marketing manager at Invibio.