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Control the flow
For all the research into microfluidics in healthcare, there’s been comparatively little innovation in actually moving liquids on the smallest scales. Most of the time, that still requires a not-especially micro syringe and a lot of off-chip technology. Stéphanie Descroix, a microfluidics researcher at Institut Curie, and Yuksel Temiz, research staff member at IBM research, talk Tim Gunn through the ways new types of valves can improve the functionality of labs-on-a-chip for point of care diagnostics.
Shaking the supply chain
The successes and challenges faced by original equipment manufacturers amid the Covid-19 pandemic have been attributed almost equally to their reliance on contract manufacturers and their distance from them, so what really makes the difference? And how are different companies meeting the rapidly changing demands of a world trying to recover? Jack Sandahl, global sourcing fellow at Boston Scientific, offers his personal views on what sets the most effective manufacturing strategies apart in times of crisis.
PPE for the planet
Several months into the worst pandemic in living memory, fears of spreading infection have largely overridden environmental concerns about plastic waste. Anna Demming reports on some of the emerging technology for personal protective equipment (PPE) that might better preserve the health of both people and planet.
India makes the leap
Indian manufacturing’s response to Covid-19 has shown the country’s potential to become one of the world’s top five medical device producers. Even so, though ‘Make in India 2.0’ aims at self-reliance, medical device imports have been rising steadily for the past five years. With a new stimulus package, more robust regulation and a host of other incentives, is India poised to compete with China? Abi Millar finds out from Rajiv Nath, forum co-ordinator at the Association of Indian Medical Devices Industry, and Rohit Anand, practice head of medical devices at GlobalData.
A helping hand
After years of tinkering with 3D printers to create artificial tissue, researchers across the world have engineered a range of different bioinks that could function as anything from bones to ovaries. Do any have the potential to succeed commercially, and could a ‘universal’ bioink be on the cards? Abi Millar asks Joshua Hunsberger, CTO of the RegenMed Development Organization, and Dr Akhilesh K Gahawar of Texas A&M University, about the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Personal space
Still blushing from the Covid-19 spotlight, which swung their way when the rest of the industry realised they were able to continue their work as if nothing had changed, OEMs’ computational modelling and simulation experts are in position to enable true personalisation and shape the industry for years to come. They just need to make sure the regulators are on board with it. Tim Gunn assesses the state of the art with Jeffrey Bischoff, director of biomechanics research for Zimmer Biomet, and Walter Schmidt, senior manager of the modelling and simulation team at Stryker Orthopaedics.
Spread your wings
Humans rarely look to insects for advice on hygiene, but then we don’t have wings studded with bacteria-killing nanopillars. Since they first took notice of such biological structures, scientists have rushed to understand how surface topographies can improve the antimicrobial properties of medical devices both inside and outside the human body. Kerry Taylor-Smith talks to Elena Ivanova, distinguished professor and molecular biochemist at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and Bo Su, professor of biomedical materials at the University of Bristol, about new approaches for fighting bacteria without chemicals or antibiotics.
Licence to print
Struggling with unprecedented demand, hospitals the world over have begun printing their own PPE – but with worries from regulators and technical glitches, it’s unclear if 3D printers and open source schematics are ready to become part of the medical mainstream. Andrea Valentino talks to Joshua Pearce, an engineering professor at Michigan Tech; Sam Onukuri, head of Johnson & Johnson’s 3D printing innovation and customer solutions department; and Carmelo De Maria, an assistant professor at the University of Pisa, about the challenges of using open source technology to manufacture medical devices – and how getting it right could have consequences far beyond Covid-19.
Sterilise and protect
With the closure of three sterilisation plants, the US faced a potentially life-threatening shortage of medical devices before the Covid-19 outbreak even happened. Andrew Tunnicliffe talks with the Food and Drug Administration’s Amanda Turney, and pharmacist and senior director of advocacy at Premier Inc Soumi Saha, about the need for action if the country is to avoid another crisis.
Step by step
Mark Whalley, head of manufacturing at Sky Medical Technology, has more than 30 years’ experience in pharmaceuticals and medical devices. After joining Sky in 2013, he was tasked with creating a ‘best in class’ manufacturing process. Here he explains what makes Sky’s approach to manufacturing and automation unique, and shares his advice for anyone making the move to automated assembly from manual.