Company insight
wire forming, micro-tubes, component manufacturing and plating capabilities to our medical offering. We also added a new geographic footprint which has increased our ability to support customers in EMEA. Since 31 August Polyfil is renamed Alleima Zug and Galvarex Alleima St Imier.
Can you explain how Alleima’s wire solutions are used in highly accurate sensors for remote monitoring devices? The primary purpose of Alleima’s medical wire solutions branded Exera is to be an active – and in many cases the lead – part of whatever medical device they are in. The wires are used to stimulate or send some sort of signal either inside or outside the body. In almost all cases, the wire is an active part of how the sensor works – a continuous glucose monitor wire, for example, is an active chemical sensor for sensing the amount of blood sugar in your interstitial tissue. Most of these are used in Type 1 diabetes cases. As you can imagine – for younger children especially – the parents’ anxiety about whether their child’s glucose and insulin levels are right can be quite intense. But the wire-sensor put into the patient constantly monitors when outside intervention is necessary. Because a parent can’t always be with their children, you can imagine the relief they feel when they can actually look on their smartphone and see what’s happening
with their child who may be miles away at school or a friend’s house The Exera sensor solutions have also been used in composite wire that incorporates different elements into a single system. One part of the wire is used to locate the sensing device inside the body, almost like a smart guidewire. Another senses heat, while another senses glucose levels in the blood in a CGM, or it senses blood flow and pressure in the device that will prevent and manage heart failure before it gets to an acute stage.
What part do Alleima’s products play in early detection solutions for diseases such as cancer? There’s a new device we’re getting involved with bringing to the marketplace that will prevent and manage heart failure before it gets to an acute stage. The wire is inserted in your cardiovascular system and there’s an antenna attached to this sensor – so the whole system provides a continuous output of blood flow and pressure that gives the physician an indication that you’re starting on the early stages of heart failure and pinpoints exactly where the problem areas are.
The physician can then start you on a remedial path long before your condition can be considered acute. A clinician can look at a patient’s history, heritage, body type or other aspects and offer the service to patients who might be at risk. It enables them to
prevent medical issues arising before it’s too late.
Another area in which our Exera ultra- fine wire is used is in locating breast tumours, enabling early detection of a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of women every year. As well as supporting early detection of breast cancer, this wire localisation method results in less breast tissue removal and keeps scarring to a minimum – contributing to the psychological well- being of the patient.
In cardiology, fine wires are needed in procedures such as cardiac catheterisation and pacemaker leads. What are the qualities that make Alleima’s fine wires so suitable for these procedures?
Alleima uses alloy and coating materials that are highly stable in the body, processing those materials in such a way as to reduce as far as possible the problems from known and well- understood failure points. In particular, our materials are designed to minimise the risk of cyclical fatigue.
Cyclical fatigue normally occurs as a consequence of three factors, where Alleima is outstanding: cleanliness of the melt, specialised surface treatment and drawing die quality. Our very long history of more than 160 years in materials development and in-house die manufacturing is key, and we have drawn on our experience in other demanding industries and transferred it to the production of precision medical wire where the material must last a lifetime. It must be tested over and over again to ensure it will never fail.
In our commitment to the needs of our customers, we systematically collect data about the new and growing challenges facing them. Our engineers and specialists work closely with customers to jointly discover ways of addressing these challenges with new or modified products. Alleima engineers have the right combination of academic qualifications and hands-on experience – and enjoy an active international exchange programme with leading research centres and universities worldwide. ●
Alleima keeps control over the supply chain, from R&D to melt to the final fine wire products. Medical Device Developments /
www.nsmedicaldevices.com
www.alleima.com/exera 117
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170
