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MEDICAL MANUFACTURING


In some cases, the volume needed has fi nally increased to the point it made sense to transition from metal to plastic, he said. “Volumes have gotten to a scale, creating a situation


where it makes sense fi nancially to invest in a mold to manu- facture with molded plastic,” Hughes said. Another driver in the trend has been concern over hos-


pital-acquired infections. “Metal instruments have historically been a reusable item,” Hughes said. “They use the instru- ment, send it to central sterilization in the hospital, and then use it again. But the challenges and costs associated with instrument sterilizing have moved any number of products to single-use plastic.”


Meanwhile, a whole new wave of medical devices is also coming to market. “There’s been a recognition that many medical devices


were not designed with the consumer in mind,” said Brian Williams, director, strategy, Global Healthcare at PwC. “We buy consumer devices driven partly by price but also by form, features and the software that powers those devices. We use smartphones to do our shopping, banking, read a book, bank, take photos. We are bringing those expectations of design, ease of use and convenience to healthcare. New medical devices won’t look as much like medical devices.”


Features and technology from consumer devices are making their way into medical devices in what Dale Robin- son, business development director at EWI, calls technology fusion. Manufacturing technologies, such as printed fl exible electronics will enable the next generation of health monitor- ing devices. Electronic circuitry is already being printed onto fabrics, he said.


Other technologies that will enable these trends include noninvasive sensors, onboard data analysis algorithms and wireless data transmission, Robinson said. The biggest areas for growth include patient monitoring through clothing or jewelry that seamlessly collects and transmits data to provid- ers, family caretakers of the elderly and parents of newborns, Robinson said. The next generation of battery technology will be smaller, fl exible and have a higher energy density. The winners in the device market will design products that have a measurable value, provide a clear health outcome and integrate with devices consumers already use, Williams said. Stand-alone devices won’t likely be as common. “Innovation has become more important in healthcare


today, given changes that have occurred in the market driven by the Affordable Care Act,” Williams said. “One compo- nent of that is reimbursement models that are value based as opposed to fee based. That puts additional pressure on


An aging global population will help power growth of just under 6% per year in medical device revenue. 42 AdvancedManufacturing.org | June 2016


Courtesy P&M Corporate Finance


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