technology | Process innovation
complex automation required to assemble and glue the steel needles into the injection moulded hubs. However, Aeschlimann says the SoloFlow product
offers more than just cost savings. the cannula has been designed to minimise needle stick injuries and he says it has attracted interest from the world Health organisa- tion’s (wHo) immunisation team, which acknowledges a reduced risk of needle stick injury in comparison to steel needles. SSB and the wHo PQS team have commenced discussions to prequalify the SoloFlow cannula for procurement by Un agencies, he says. SSB believes the all-plastic SoloFlow design – which
Above: The new SoloFlow plastics needle compared with a typical steel alternative
while a draw-up cannula such as SoloFlow does not
need to penetrate human skin – it is used to load liquid drugs into a syringe from a vial by penetrating a septum seal – the external diameter is important as larger diameters can result in excessive coring of the vial septum, with an associated risk of leakage. SSB’s coreit technology overcomes the challenges
of traditional moulding techniques using novel movable mould elements. these are regulated by the mould machine controller and enable support to be provided to the core pin during injection of the polymer into the cavity without interrupting or negatively influencing its flow. Aeschlimann says standard moulding machines are able to control the coreit process with no major modifications.
A further benefit of the use of these movable mould
elements is that it allows the final length of the cannula to be programmed from the machine controller, eliminating the need to remove and replace a cannula mould each time a new length is required. SSB has produced needles measuring between 19mm and 32mm using its pre-production tooling. “during the development phase, this feature has
allowed us to quickly respond to prospective buyers’ needs in achieving variable cannula lengths,” Ae- schlimann says. different materials ranging from commodity
polymers such as polypropylene to high performance polymers have been tested throughout the SoloFlow technology development phase to determine the most suitable option. SSB finally settled on a high perform- ance polyamide. together with otto Klumpp, SSB has now fully
validated the coreit production process on its four- cavity pre-production mould, establishing that it is capable of an annual production capacity of five million units. the company says, based on this initial produc- tion experience, it believes the SoloFlow cannula will offer a cost saving of between 15 and 25% compared to traditional steel needle alternatives. A significant part of this saving can be attributed to the elimination of the
14 injection world | April 2012
already carries US FdA registration - will also simplify recycling of plastic syringes and reduce the cost and risk of implementing immunisation programmes worldwide. the Serum institute of india has confirmed that it will use the SoloFlow design in clinical trials of a new influenza vaccine that begins later this year (the organisation claims to be the world’s largest producer of vaccines for measles, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis supplying around two thirds of all child vaccination doses worldwide). while SSB has developed the technology primarily
for production of medical cannulae and needles, Aeschlimann says the company sees potential for the coreit processing technology to be used in any application requiring high precision thin wall, high aspect hollow mouldings with internal diameters of less than 1.5mm. this could include producers of precision dispensing needles for application of adhesives, sealants and coatings as well as manufacturers of consumables for the life science and diagnostics industries, such as disposable tips and pipettes.
More information: Melbourne, Australia-based SSB technology is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Australian company telezon. it specialises in the development of technolo- gies for production of plastic needles and injection systems for medical applications, which it aims to license to third parties worldwide. its first commercial product is the SoloFlow cannula, which is initially being manufactured using SSB’s proprietary coreit moulding technology by otto Klumpp of Germany.
www.telezon.com
Headquartered in Balingen-ostdorf in Germany, otto Klumpp is a specialist mouldmaking and moulding company active in the medical, automotive and filtration markets. the company employs more than 100 people and offers class 10,000 and class 100,000 clean room production, as well as full mouldmaking capabilities. ❙
www.otto-klumpp.de
www.injectionworld.com
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