Some highlights of the event next week:
- LSR moulding
Described as a step change in liquid silicone rubber (LSR) processing, Canadian firm Silcotech has developed a multi-shot processing system capable of simultaneously moulding nine discrete substrates or shapes in a range of durometers, textures and colours using QP1 silicone elastomers from Dow Corning. Both companies will feature this technology and its current and potential applications at their respective booths at MD&M West.
Silcotech’s multi-shot silicone system leverages the full range of durometers offered across Dow Corning’s QP1 product family within a single application, while maintaining processing costs comparable to a single-shot system thanks to the material’s fast cure and easy processing.
- Sealing technologies
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions reports that it will highlight its “shoulder-to-shoulder” approach to engineering design, advanced delivery and LSR technology at booth 1554, where it will display a number of sealing technologies it has developed for medical device OEMs. Recent achievements in seal, bearing, and tubing designs and LSR moulded components that have contributed to advances in insulin inhalers, drug-delivery devices and surgical instruments are among the featured products.
- · Bioresorbable materials
Betting on the bioresorbables market, Teleflex Medical OEM (Wayne, PA) has announced a significant expansion of its manufacturing infrastructure and production capabilities for sutures, fibres and resins that resorb in the body over time. The multimillion-dollar investment at the Mansfield, MA, facility includes expanded production and cleanroom areas, a new customer support center and additional areas for research and development activities.
Teleflex Medical developed the Bondek Plus (polyglycolic acid) coated suture, which holds together body tissues for a determined period of time to aid in healing and then safely resorbs into the body.
In addition to suture, the Mansfield facility will house manufacturing operations for specialized yarns of polyglycolic acid (PGA), poly-L-lactide (PLLA) and polyglycolic acid-co-poly-L-lactic acid (PGLA). These bioresorbable yarns can be knitted, woven, felted or braided into bioresorbable components used in textile-based medical devices.
Taking a different tack on bioresorbables, Secant Medical (Perkasie, PA) will showcase its Regenerez technology, based on poly glycerol sebacate (PGS) at booth 1973.
Coating a partially or fully resorbable structure with PGS can improve coating biocompatibility by promoting tissue in-growth, enabling controlled drug release and solving compliance mismatch issues with bodily tissue that may occur with other bioresorbable materials, says Secant.