MEDICAL DEVICES
Laser processing in medical device manufacturing
www.lasersystemseurope.com/industries/medical-devices
The medical device manufacturing sector is one of the fastest growing application areas of laser materials processing
It is also a growing sector in itself, with the global medical devices market projected to increase from its 2022 figure of $495.5 billion to $718.9 billion by 2029, according to Fortune Business Insights[1]
. This growth is despite
a decline in demand during 2020, due to the disruption to normal healthcare services through the first phases of the Covid-19 pandemic. Lasers are now regularly used in medical device manufacturing both for micro-scale machining – including welding, cutting, surface structuring and drilling holes – and for marking components and devices with tracking data to make sure current and forthcoming regulations on traceability are adhered to. Devices and components machined via lasers include catheters, endoscopes,
heart pacemakers, meshes, stents, and needles. Ultrafast lasers, which emit pulses in the order of picoseconds (10-12 femtoseconds (10-15
s) and s) long
are often used for these tasks, with femtosecond lasers fast becoming the laser of choice. In the case of cutting procedures, for instance, this is because femtosecond lasers reduce the number of post-processing steps needed and also minimise thermal effects that in some cases can make materials bio- toxic. Femtosecond lasers can also process almost every type of material, enabling coated and laminated structures to be machined in one single step.
Medical device machining The types of welds required to join parts of surgical blades, endoscopes, implantable batteries and pacemakers are less than 1mm in diameter.
Firms such as NKT Photonics and Foba offer laser technologies for producing high-contrast traceability markings on medical equipment such as kidney dishes (right) and surgical scissors (below)
This micro-welding is of two main types: spot welding and seam welding. Spot welding is used in the manufacture of medical components such as the electrical contacts for fine springs, guidewires, and tubes. Depending on the spot size required and the material being welded, it can be carried out by continuous wave (CW), quasi- continuous-wave (QCW), or nanosecond-pulsed lasers. The seam welding used to seal up implantable devices can also be performed using such lasers. Nanosecond fibre lasers and,
increasingly, femtosecond lasers are routinely used for machining both neuro and cardiovascular stents. These stents are often made from nitinol, a nickel- titanium alloy that cannot be easily processed via mechanical techniques. Since stents are
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inserted into the body, they must not have rough edges that could injure the patient. So the ability of femtosecond lasers to machine burr-free, micron-level structures is extremely important. Stents can also be made
from biodegradable polymers, which can also be processed effectively by femtosecond lasers, particularly those in the UV wavelength. Using femtosecond pulses instead of nanosecond or even picosecond pulses ensures that the laser beam contacts with the piece being machined for the shortest time possible. This minimises the heat-affected zone on the workpiece, resulting in a reduction in any detrimental effects caused by excess heating. For certain medical devices – including stents – reducing heating effects is
g THE 2023 GUIDE TO LASER SYSTEMS LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE 25
Foba
NKT Photonics
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