ELKHORN,
Wis. — MedPlast, Inc.’s ability
to craft the pessary balloons that enhance quality of life for many women
underscores the company’s commitment to premium quality output and complete
mastery of many separate – and complex – processes.
Today’s pessaries are precision-manufactured medical devices
that provide pelvic organ support and that are used to treat a variety of
gynecologic conditions, including prolapse. In years past, such devices were
made of latex, which is relatively easy to work with, but – from the medical
standpoint – contains proteins which can cause an allergic reaction.
As a result, medical product makers may now specify
silicone, which offers clear-cut advantages for patients but represents a
serious manufacturing challenge. “The silicone offers poor tear resistance
compared to natural rubber,”
said Bernie Stritzke, Vice President and General Manager of
MedPlast’s facility here in Elkhorn.
“The balloon section of the multi-piece product is thin, and has to be
stretched and there are difficult de-molding transitions,” he said, noting
that the company made a special part to de-mold without over-extending the
piece. “It’s a process that requires great finesse.”
It’s also a process that requires complete mastery of each element
of a complex, multi-stage process. “This is painstaking, time-consuming
work that requires particular expertise in extruding, molding, assembling and
more,”
Stritzke said. This Inflat-o-Ball(TM) pessary created by
MedPlast for CooperSurgical, Inc. includes a molded part, a check ball and a
glued-on silicone extrusion.
“The Inflat-o-Ball pessary is a unique device designed
to manage complicated pelvic prolapse cases. Being able to provide this product
without latex is an important advancement in patient care, as many patients
using the product are exposed for extended periods of time, making those with
latex allergies unable to receive this therapy.
The new silicone-based product eliminates this problem. Now
this device is available to all in need,” says Robert Auerbach, MD, Senior
Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer of CooperSurgical.
In the context of today’s medical product market, the
MedPlast pessary balloon is a valuable creation for healthcare practitioners
and a blessing for patients, especially as the worldwide population ages. For
those in the medical product supply chain, MedPlast’s ability to create such a
piece to such exacting specifications underscores the company’s ability to
handle the most demanding assignments, all under one roof.
“Not every customer needs such a confluence of
technical abilities for their product,” said Stritzke. “However, the
light goes on when our customers see this piece – they know we can do it all,
and better than anyone.”
Far more than “just injection molders,” the
company has added extrusion blow molding and clean room injection molding and
assembly to its core competencies to meet the needs of medical component
manufacturers with production runs that might otherwise fall below the
requirements of the general blow molding community.
For more information, visit the company online at http://www.MedPlastgroup.com.
Posted by Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief, MDT