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Medical Device Developments Vol. 1 2023


Editorial Editor Peter Littlejohns peter.littlejohns@progressivemediainternational.com Sub-editor Tal Abdulrazaq, Ellys Woodhouse Production manager Dave Stanford Group art director Henrik Williams Designer Martin Faulkner Head of content Jake Sharp


Commercial Client services executive Derek Deschamps Division sales manager Martin John martin.john@progressivemediainternational.com Publication manager Danielle Driver danielle.driver@progressivemediainternational.com Managing director William Crocker


Medical Device Developments is published by Progressive Media International.


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t’s not a bad thing to learn from mistakes, but there are situations in which nothing short of perfection will do. The manufacture of medical devices is perhaps one of the most pertinent examples of that, with any margin of error, however slight, compromising their efficacy and even presenting a potential risk to patients. That’s why predictability is baked into the process, with complex algorithms working in unison with optical hardware able to detect even the minor flaws that might be missed by the fallible human eye. On page 44 of this issue, Andrea Valentino speaks to an industry veteran who orchestrates vision systems at one of the industry’s largest contract manufacturers to learn how the technology ensures repeatable quality. Manufacturing is just one case in which predictability driven by technology can add significant value to the field of medical devices. In one of the major frontiers of the industry, mastery of bioelectronics, there’s a whole host of devices in research labs held back from the clinic by their inability to conform to the complex surfaces of the human body. On page 65, I speak to a research duo that may have solved that problem for some using simulation software driven by mathematical modelling to determine the optimal parameters for conformability. Another situation in which the perfect fit is vital for success is implant surgery, and for one specific knee operation, a researcher from the University of Bath has developed a way to bring the reduce the complexity and thus the complication rate – all by using a 3D printer to improve the implant. On page 76, Kim Thomas finds out more. Also discussed in this issue is one university’s plight to help start-up medical device companies, an injectable biomaterial with heart-healing potential and a device that could improve the quality of life of those suffering from ALS.


No room for error I


Peter Littlejohns, editor


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Medical Device Developments / www.nsmedicaldevices.com


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