Coatings maker Picosun Group said it has developed a product family specifically for the needs of medical device manufacturers.

Picosun (Espoo, Finland)  makes biocompatible and bioactive atomic layer deposition (ALD) thin film coatings designed to form a pinhole-free, conformal, uniform and hermetic encapsulation around the coated object. This speeds up the healing process and protects the patient from possible metal ion leakage from the implant into the body, according to the company. Picosun is already in the surgical instrument market. In the pharmaceutical industry, the company’s powder ALD technology is used to functionalize the surface of drug particles for controlled drug delivery.

Now the company is expanding into coatings for implantable microelectronic sensors for wearable medical devices made for neurological and cardiological conditions. The coatings are designed to protect the implanted parts from corrosion caused by body fluids, and the patient from the rejection reaction caused by an “alien” object in the body.

“As the inventors and pioneers of ALD, we at Picosun have the most extensive know-how to take ALD to new application areas,” said Picosun chief technology officer Jani Kivioja in a prepared statement. “Our aim is to utilize ALD to improve the quality of life for all of us, so healthcare industries, such as orthopedic and dental implants, implantable sensors, neural stimulators, and stents manufacturing, are our next big target market.”