Shelby Twp., Michigan, –Tectorius presents Vibra-Stop thread locker, sealant and anti-vibration compound as an effective product for use with medical equipment.

Screws and other fasteners often become loose and even fall out of important medical equipment relied upon by the injured, elderly, or handicapped. When Vibra-Stop is applied to wheel chairs, canes, crutches, scooters, etc., the equipment is much more likely to remain strongly assembled over time, allowing those who rely on it to use their equipment with confidence.

Vibra-Stop product differs from other thread-locking compounds in a variety of ways:

• Coated pieces can be removed and reused multiple times, allowing for easy adjustment of parts.
• Installation can occur immediately OR indefinitely after application of Vibra-Stop.
• The formula is effective on metallic and non-metallic surfaces (including plastic), and works on both threaded and non-threaded fasteners.

This product is available in many grades, including a traditional brush bottle and an aerosol spray can.

Source: STS/Tectorius

Although traditional pacemakers pose minimal risk, patients are still vulnerable to some short- or long-term complications, said Vivek Y. Reddy, M.D., lead author of the study and director of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Those complications can stem from the pulse generator implanted under the skin of the chest, where infections or skin breakdown can occur, and particularly from the leads, or wires, that run from the generator through a vein to the heart. Leads can break, dislodge or contribute to a vein blockage.

However, the new pacemaker has no leads – its pulse generator lies within the unit in the heart – and is placed without the need for surgery.

At 6mm in diameter and about 42mm long, the wireless device is smaller than a triple-A battery. It's faster and easier to implant than traditional pacemakers, Reddy said, and it's programmed and monitored similarly.

"While a much larger study is required to prove this, one may expect the leadless pacemaker to be associated with less chance of infection and lead-related problems such as lead fracture," Reddy said. "Overall, the self-contained pacemaker is a paradigm shift in cardiac pacing."

The study, called LEADLESS, was conducted in 33 Caucasian patients, average age 77, two-thirds men, at two hospitals in Prague and one in Amsterdam. The self-contained pacemaker was successfully implanted in 32 patients, or 97 percent. Ninety-four percent were free of complications through the three-month study period, the researchers reported.

The new device is a self-modulating pacer guided into place using a catheter inserted in the femoral vein and is affixed to the heart in the right ventricle, the same place a standard lead would be located. The device is for patients who require single-chamber pacing, or roughly 20% to 30% of U.S. and European patients who need pacemakers. Patients who need dual-chamber pacing would still require traditional pacemakers, according to Reddy.

Among the study's 33 patients, one suffered complications during the procedure and underwent emergency surgery but later died after suffering a stroke.

After three months, the new pacemakers were functioning well, the researchers found. They are continuing to track the patients and expect to report longer-term outcomes later this year. Meanwhile, a much larger study at multiple U.S. locations that will include longer-term follow-up is under way, Reddy said.

Co-authors are Reinoud E. Knops, M.D.; Johannes Sperzel, M.D.; Marc A. Miller, M.D.; Jan Petru, M.D.; Jaroslav Simon, M.D.; Lucie Sediva, M.D.; Joris R. de Groot, M.D., Ph.D.; Fleur V.Y. Tjong, M.D.; Peter Jacobson, B.S.; Alan Ostrosff, M.S.; Srinivas R. Dukkipati, M.D.; Jacob S. Koruth, M.D.; Arthur A.M. Wilde, M.D., Ph.D.; Josef Kautzner, M.D., Ph.D.; and Petr Neuzil, M.D., Ph.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.

Nanostim Inc, maker of the leadless pacemaker, funded the study.

Source: AHA

London – Propelled by portable new products especially suitable for active sports and fitness lifestyles, a new report from IHS Technology, projects the wearable electronics market to reach $77 million by 2018, up considerably from a mere $6 million by year-end in 2014. This year marks the first time of significant volume for the market from a virtually non-existent base last year, and revenue will continue to climb very rapidly in the next few years ahead. By 2018, industry takings will have grown nearly 120 percent from 2014 levels, as shown in the attached figure.

“Wearable electronics will be the key to sustaining the current very-high-growth levels of battery revenue in consumer electronics,” said Thomas McAlpine, power supply and storage component analyst for IHS. “The tremendous expansion in store will come thanks to an increase in the shipments of smartwatch products, wearable health monitoring devices and smart glasses—products geared toward an active lifestyle combining advanced technological trends in miniature computing with newly smart consumer imperatives in fitness and fashion.

In all, annual shipments for wearable electronic devices will reach an estimated 56 million units by 2018, fueling continued demand for the batteries that power these products, Mc Alpine noted. 

These findings can be found in the report, “Batteries in Portable Consumer Electronics – World 2014,” from the Power & Energy service of IHS.

Lithium polymer batteries to account for lion’s share of market
In particular, 2013 was an important year for wearable electronics with many of the leading consumer electronics suppliers bringing out their first smartwatch products. Also on the horizon now are yet-to-be-launched smartglass products for the mass market, with Google currently running a trial program for its Google Glass, and an official product release anticipated for later this year.

Of the total number of batteries expected to be installed in wearable electronics by 2018, lithium polymer batteries will take the predominant share, accounting for 73% of total wearable electronics battery revenue. Lithium polymer batteries are typically the preferred choice as they are lighter in weight and can be manufactured into a wider range of shapes and sizes, compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries.

Smartphone and tablet PC demand will continue to drive the majority of revenue growth in the lithium battery market for portable electronics over the next couple of years, with the combined shipments of these devices projected to grow 46% from 2013 to 2015. However, shipments will decrease from 2015 onward, and coupled with projected erosion in the average selling prices of lithium battery cells, growth will decelerate for the overall lithium battery market for portable consumer electronics.

This means that the emergence of new applications in the market is critical, McAlpine remarked. “Lithium batteries will remain an integral component for innovation in consumer electronics. But to achieve sustained market growth, new wearable electronics and other devices need to be introduced and adopted by the mass market, similar to what is occurring now in recently emerging product categories.”

The IHS report, now available for purchasers, includes an analysis of opportunities for batteries in consumer electronics across 11 applications, accompanied by battery chemistry and battery capacity market splits with forecasts through 2018.

Source: IHS

Highland Heights, OHIO –Medical device contract manufacturer Norman Noble Inc. announced Noble S.T.E.A.L.T.H. (System To Enable Ablation Laser Technology Haz-Free), an exclusive, athermal laser machining process that represents an advancement of several magnitudes in medical device production. Noble S.T.E.A.L.T.H. makes it possible to produce next generation bioabsorbable scaffolds and Nitinol-based micro implant designs that could not previously be manufactured using current technologies. 

Noble S.T.E.A.L.T.H. is an ultrashort pulse (USP) proprietary laser system developed by Norman Noble Inc., to create highly precise features in any material, such as bioabsorbable polymers, shape memory metals (Nitinol) and other exotic alloys without producing any heat affected zone (HAZ). It can reduce, and in some cases, eliminate costly deburring and post-processing steps, which increases product quality and yield to previously unattainable levels and leaves the machined geometry intact. Accordingly, the Noble S.T.E.A.L.T.H. produces the narrowest laser-cut kerfs in the industry at kerf widths of 0.00045" in Nitinol and 0.00025" in bioabsorbable materials. 

In addition to enabling production of new designs, Noble S.T.E.A.L.T.H. provides increased flexibility within existing designs, which can then be manufactured three times faster than they can be with current laser machining technologies.

“Noble S.T.E.A.L.T.H. is the most significant advancement for implantable medical device manufacturing since Norman Noble first introduced an athermal machining process to the industry over 4 years ago,” said Chris Noble, vice president and chief operating officer of Norman Noble, Inc. “The science for medical implants, particularly bioabsorbable scaffolds and Nitinol-based micro implants is in a state of rapid development. Our customers had a growing need for HAZ-free laser technology to enable machining of their newest medtech implant designs. By producing higher quality cut surfaces at higher yields in one-third the production time, Noble S.T.E.A.L.T.H. goes beyond that need. It’s a leapfrog in technology.” 

Source: Norman Noble