Materials
Benefits of thermoplastic polyurethane films for wearable devices
TPU films offer a combination of flexibility, stretchability, biocompatibility and manufacturability for next-generation printed electronics.
Covestro — 2025
Vulcanizing and customizing silicone for medical device applications
Medtech manufacturers are using advanced silicone processing techniques to enhance device performance, assembly and visibility.
Lubrizol — 2025
Avoid these four common blunders when using nitinol for medical devices
Understanding nitinol’s characteristics and challenges is essential for innovating with this uniquely useful medical device material.
Cirtec Medical — 2024
Avoiding adhesive pitfalls in the CGM device design process
There’s no one-size-fits-all adhesive for CGM wearable devices, but considering materials and user needs will lead to an optimal solution.
Avery Dennison Performance Tapes — 2024
3 inevitable innovations in materials for 3D printing orthopedics
3D printing for orthopedics is one of the most promising applications of additive manufacturing for medical devices.
Medical Design & Outsourcing: Restor3d — 2024
3D printing with titanium: 5 questions with Riccardo Toninato at Enovis
LimaCorporate — now owned by Enovis — manufactures 3D-printed titanium orthopedic implants using electron beam (e-beam) melting, but also has laser equipment for additive manufacturing prototyping and other R&D.
Medical Design & Outsourcing: Enovis — 2024
iRhythm’s next-generation Zio cardiac monitoring patch can be worn for up to 14 days. [Photo courtesy of iRhythm]
How to find the right balance between performance and patient comfort in wearable device adhesion.
Medical Design & Outsourcing: iRhythm — 2023
Small but mighty medical fiber: Minimally invasive surgery demands new materials
High-strength, lightweight medical fiber helps make surgical procedures more effective.
Honeywell – 2022
How antimicrobial coatings of the future will better prevent infections
State-of-the-art antimicrobial technology represents a paradigm shift in the prevention and treatment of surgical infections.
BioInteractions – 2022
Braiding technology options for innovative biomedical textile structures
Making informed choices between high-density, low-density and 3D braiding offers greater design flexibility for implantable textile components that are fit-for-purpose.
Cortland Biomedical – 2022
The dissolvable pacemaker, seen here mounted on the heart, could benefit post-cardiac surgery patients. [Image courtesy of Rogers Lab/Northwestern University]
Wireless, battery-free, fully implantable pacemakers made of bioresorbable components could represent the future of temporary pacing technology.
Rogers Lab/Northwestern University – 2021
Wearable devices and fragile skin: How to select the right adhesive
Design considerations are crucial when choosing an adhesive to stick wearable medical devices to fragile skin.
3M’s Medical Solutions Division – 2021
How to choose the right rubber material and process for your medical parts
Creating a medical component with a rubber material requires careful attention to various factors that will affect performance and manufacturability. Material choices and manufacturing options present many trade-offs.
Minnesota Rubber & Plastics – 2021
How laser inversion enables multi-materials 3D printing
Researchers invented a new technique that could transform additive manufacturing processes, potentially enabling the printing of circuit boards, electromechanical components, and perhaps even robots.
Columbia University – 2020
How to successfully switch medical device materials
Breaking the hold on single-source suppliers creates a less costly and more sustainable material supply chain for medical device manufacturers.
Freudenberg – 2020
This rubber thermoset works well in fluid control components
Synthetic polyisoprene has become an important polymer for medical fluid control components.
Vernay Laboratories – 2020
How anodizing can make aluminum suitable for reusable medical devices
High-performance aluminum anodic surface treatments offer medical device manufacturers greater options for sterilization-resilient medical devices.
Florida Anodize System & Technologies – 2020
Biomedical textiles can drive innovation in orthopedics
Orthopedic OEMs are looking to medical textiles for minimally invasive approaches to applications ranging from soft-tissue tears to bone grafts to spinal stabilization — and more.
Cortland Biomedical – 2020
High-consistency rubber adds shape to medtech manufacturing
High-consistency rubber (HCR) offers medical device manufacturers an established biocompatibility pedigree, broad processing parameter ranges and excellent physical properties.
NuSil – 2019
How Toray Industries’ Toyolac ABS resin compares with polycarbonate
Toray officials think the resin could be ideal for any sort of connector in a fluid application requiring resistance to lipids and oils.
Toray Industries – 2019
What is aluminum anodizing?
Aluminum anodizing is the electrochemical passivation process by which the surface layer of an aluminum substrate is converted into an aluminum oxide layer.
Florida Anodize System & Technologies (FAST) – 2019
Could Biocoat’s hydrophilic coating promote vascular catheter innovation?
Biocoat officials say their Hydak coatings deliver competitive durability and lubricity — and they’re made out of a naturally occurring substance.
Biocoat – 2019
What is kolsterising?
Kolsterising is a low temperature, thermo-chemical, diffusion-based surface hardening technology that is used to enhance the inherently poor mechanical and tribological properties of austenitic stainless steel.
Bodycote – 2019
The right adhesive can help people manage their diabetes
Learn how the science behind sticking to skin affects a device’s success and how to mitigate three diabetic device design challenges with adhesives.
3M – 2018
Here’s how you can keep bacteria from colonizing silicone
Three production techniques can reduce the colonization of bacteria on devices made of silicone for placement inside the body. Tests have shown that the newest method shows promise.
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions – 2018
How to address common challenges that affect extended device wear time
As they look to enhance patient comfort, convenience and clinical outcomes with longer wear times, device makers must manage factors such as bodily fluids, skin regeneration, movement and friction. Luckily, there are material and device design solutions.
Vancive Medical Technologies – 2018
What to consider when manufacturing a silicone soft skin adhesive coating
All stages of the manufacturing process are important to obtain the soft skin adhesive or wound contact layer that meets both the manufacturer’s productivity targets and the customers’ quality requirements.
Elkem Silicones – 2018
Materials for needle-free injection technology: What you need to know
Specially formulated polycarbonates help advance drug delivery innovation that improves patient experience and promotes better medication compliance.
Covestro – 2018
What are high-heat thermoplastics and how do they work?
High-heat thermoplastics are a group of polymers that receive this designation because of their elevated processing temperatures, typically between about 550 °F to 750 °F.
Spectrum Plastics Group – 2018
PEEK formulations for new implantable devices
Since the late 1990s, polyether ether ketone has become a go-to material for companies that manufacture orthopedic implants, thanks to its radiolucency and anatomical properties. Now, custom formulations of PEEK are enabling new potential applications for the polymer.
Foster Corp. – 2017
How to add recyclability and sustainability into medtech plastics
Recyclability and sustainability have become very important to the medical device marketplace, and some companies are taking note.
Ray Products – 2017
The trouble with tooling LSR and how to get molding costs down
Liquid silicone rubber (LSR) is great for medical device applications, but is the tooling worth the trouble?
Robin Industries – 2017
How plasma treatments are driving up the value of plastic labware
By altering the surface properties of polymer labware through plasma treatments and coatings, manufacturers are improving the quality of test results while increasing value of products they create.
PVA TePla America – 2017
How a versatile epoxy is enabling brain stimulation
In but another example of how useful and critical epoxies can be, researchers in Israel used a two-part epoxy to construct a magnetic coil to stimulate animal brain neurons via a magnetic field.
Master Bond – 2017
Repeat sterilization for adhesives in reusable and non-disposable devices
Here’s a review of the common adhesive materials and their reaction to sterilization processes.
Henkel – 2017
What are orthopedic coatings?
Here are some important facts medical device designers need to know about orthopedic coatings, courtesy of Orchid.
Orchid – 2017
