Current process chains for the manufacture of stents are characterized by multiple manual operations and open loop, batch-oriented quality assurance procedures. New developments call for more uniform stent characteristics and thus for a significantly higher degree of process control. A key element for achieving these aims is a state of the art diode-pumped fibre laser cutting system excelling by speed, accuracy and an outstanding level of process control capability.
“The emergence of new generations of stents creates the need for an in-depth redesign of the manufacturing process chain as a whole,” claims Michael Giese, CEO of eucatech AG in Rheinfelden (Germany), an innovative manufacturer of medical technology for interventional cardiology and radiology with a specific focus on stent systems and related application equipment.
Stent manufacturing requirements
Stents are expandable metal grid structures used to stabilize weakened blood vessels e.g. after removal of clogging coagulations. Standard procedure for their application is the introduction using a specialized catheter and a subsequent expansion by a ballooning tip section. Alternative technologies using memory effect alloys have become available as well.
View Document (444Kb)
Copyright of ©2008 AILU
We make every effort to trace copyright. If inadvertently we have not attributed copyright or attributed it incorrectly, please contact us using our webform or by emailing dlm@ailu.org.uk and we will rectify the situation.
Disclaimer
To view disclaimer details click here
