Welsh Company Receives Funding to Develop Implant Coating Characterisation System

Nightingale-EOS Ltd has received a substantial investment from Mercia Technology Seed Fund and Finance Wales to complete development of a laser-based technology that nondestructively measures coatings applied to medical implants. This investment leverages additional grant funding from the Welsh Assembly Government.

Beam Profile Reflectometry (BPR) is designed to characterise thin coatings applied to cardiac stents, replacement joints and related devices. The technology uses a single measurement to determine both coating thickness and composition. It can be used for in-line QA inspection as well as laboratory testing. This technique provides medical device manufacturers with a low-cost, robust solution for complying with US FDA’s Process Analytical Technology initiative, according to Nightingale-EOS.

The company‘s development centre is in Wrexham, Wales, and it will open an applications laboratory and sales office at the Coventry University Technology Park in England, where the West Midlands Manufacturing Measurement Centre is also based.

“There are clear benefits for medical device manufacturers in adopting technology such as this to streamline their production processes, reduce cost and improve quality,” says company Chairman Alistair Taylor. “This investment enables the company to bring the technology to its customers in time for the next generation of devices.”

The deal is the first co-investment between Mercia Technology Seed Fund and Finance Wales plc.

Tags: Beam Profile Reflectometry, Mercia Technology Seed Fund, Nightingale-EOS, Wales