Paragon Medical Highlights Excellence in Nitinol Laser Processing for Medical Devices as Critical for Patient Safety
Paragon Medical, a global leader in innovative solutions for medical device components, emphasizes that state-of-the-art Nitinol laser processing capabilities are key to advancing treatment options that improve patients’ lives.
Innovators in medical device development turn to Nitinol and its extraordinary properties, such as super-elasticity, shape memory and biocompatibility for medical applications. These range from self-expanding stents for cardio- or neurovascular components, guidewires, orthopedic and endoscopic devices, dental arch wires to drug delivery systems and robotic surgery. The shape memory effect of Nitinol allows it to undergo deformation at a lower temperature, and then, when heated, return to its original shape. This enables the ability to collapse a medical device for insertion through a catheter and then expand to the desired shape once inside the body. This is valuable for minimally invasive procedures that are safer for the patient and speed up recovery times.
Nitinol's properties, coupled with precise laser processing technology are paramount in the development of innovative medical devices. Expertise in processing Nitinol and state-of-the-art laser processing equipment are key to meeting critical performance requirements. Advantages of using laser to cut and weld Nitinol range from achieving highest precision levels, minimizing thermal damage, high speed and efficiency, reduced contamination risk and post-processing to easy automation integration, customization, and cost-effective prototyping.
Paragon Medical with its expert brand Laserage has been at the forefront of Nitinol laser processing for implantable medical devices for more than 25 years. As companies move towards volume production, Laserage offers a comprehensive menu of Process Validation options to meet FDA requirements. Laser-machined Nitinol, along with other materials like stainless alloys, titanium alloys, cobalt chrome alloys, magnesium, and bioabsorbable plastics, are all cut with state-of-the-art laser systems that have been designed and built in-house. This capability enables Laserage to tackle the most complex Nitinol manufacturing challenges.
So, what’s one of the secrets to Nitinol laser processing? Utilizing ultrafast femtosecond laser systems for laser processing. These laser systems emits ultra-short pulses in the femtosecond range which is one quadrillionth of a second (10^-15 seconds). The ultra-short pulses produced by femtosecond lasers have unique properties such as high energy precision and high control over the interaction with materials to significantly reduce heat transfer to the surrounding material when done well. This technology enables the laser cutting of Nitinol devices, reducing the need for extensive post-processing. This allows faster production and go-to-market cycles for medical device OEMs and hence medical device innovations can reach patients faster.
The full range of Laserage’s Nitinol specific capabilities includes:
- laser cutting of Nitinol components tailored to specific medical applications,
- laser welding for Nitinol assemblies for medical devices as well as
- custom Nitinol solutions where the engineering team closely collaborates with clients to develop custom Nitinol solutions for their specific medical device requirements.
Dan Capp, Director Technology Program at Paragon Medical states: "After more than 25 years working with Nitinol in the medical device arena, we might have expected processing this alloy to become a run-of -the-mill process. However, at Laserage we have found Nitinol processing quite the opposite. Continuous learning is required because ingots change, adjustments in drawing tools produce variations in surface finishes, new laser cutting equipment is introduced, new electro-polishing techniques and solutions are developed. And of course, customer designs are ever changing. It’s a truly fascinating material to work with every day."
Laserage’s Nitinol laser processing services underscore the company's commitment to staying at the forefront of technology, providing comprehensive solutions for the medical device market. Read more about our Nitinol laser processing capabilities here.