Wellcome Trust to Establish Open-Access Journal

Wellcome Trust, one of the largest research charities in the world, has announced its plan to launch a free open-access academic journal. The organisation will also more strictly enforce its requirements that scientists it funds allow open access to the published study within six months after publication. The move is the latest in a protest against academic journals that charge for access to their publications. Thousands of scientists have joined the “Academic Spring” movement by promising to boycott Elsevier, the world’s largest publisher of scientific journals. Read more…

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Parent Company of Oliver-Tolas Healthcare Changes Hands

From the wire: Oliver Products, the parent company of Oliver-Tolas Healthcare Packaging and Oliver Packaging and Equipment, has been acquired by an affiliate of Berwind Corp. Read more…

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Low Friction Coating Provides Lubrication and Corrosion Protection

Materials researchers at INM – Leibniz-Institute for New Materials in Saarbrücken, Germany, developed a low friction coating that provides lubrication properties similar to grease and oil as well as protection from corrosion. The new material is suitable for the coating of metals and metal alloys, such as steel, aluminium or magnesium. Cog wheels, threads, machine parts and cranks wear out, when their metallic surfaces rub against each other. Hence machine parts are cleaned and greased in a time-consuming and expensive way. This can be avoided using a low friction coating free of grease. The low friction coating can be applied by using the conventional wet-chemical processes, such as spray- or dip-coating. By simple thermal curing, the imbricate structure forms in self-organisation without further interference. Read more…

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Software and Medical Devices? It’s Complicated

As more and more healthcare apps enter the marketplace, manufacturers increasingly will wrestle with complex regulatory issues that don’t always have a clear path to compliance. For example, as functionality is added to software used in a healthcare setting, it can become a medical device in legal terms, writes life sciences and IP lawyer Erik Vollebregt on the Eucomed blog. Read more…

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Finalists of the 2012 MDEA Awards Announced

MD+DI has announced the finalists of the 2012 Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA). The awards ceremony, sponsored by MD+DI and organised by UBM Canon, recognises achievements of medical product manufacturers and the people behind the scenes—engineers, scientists, designers and clinicians. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 23 May at the Marriott hotel in Philadelphia during the MD&M East tradeshow, where winners will receive Bronze, Silver or Gold-level awards. Read more…

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New Catheter Processing Technology Protects Coating Integrity

From the wire: Machine Solutions Inc. (Flagstaff, AZ, USA) has announced the introduction of integrated protective film technology for balloon pleating, folding/wrapping and fluting processes. The FFS975S Drug Eluting Balloon Catheter Pleating & Folding Equipment is specifically designed for processing DEB/DCB products.

“The market leading FFS technology from Machine Solutions Inc. for pleating and folding low-profile angioplasty and stent-delivery balloon catheters has moved toward the next frontier of advanced process technology,” said Daniel Kasprzyk, CEO, Machine Solutions Inc.

The integrated film protects balloon coatings from damage and eliminates the potential for cross contamination that can occur with conventional pleat/fold methods. The machine combines PLC processing with PC touch screen HMI in a range of machine configurations suitable for each manufacturer’s unique product and process requirements.

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Nanohealth Programme Links UK and Irish Academic Institutions with Companies

An EU-funded programme pools the resources of four Irish universities and Swansea University in the United Kingdom to help businesses explore opportunities in nanohealth. The Celtic Alliance for NanoHealth (CAN) combines the resources at University College Dublin’s Centre for BioNano Interactions, Trinity College Dublin’s Institute of Molecular Medicines and Centre for Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices, Dublin City University’s Biomedical Diagnostics Institute and Nanobiophotonics and Imaging Centre and Swansea University’s Centre for NanoHealth. Read more…

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Minor Components Can Have an Oversized Impact on Testing Systems

Guest blogger Dave Selin, European Sales Manager, Uson, writes:

When it comes to nondestructive testing, the types of components used to create the test circuits always have an impact on a testing system’s capabilities.

In leak testers, for example, the size of the system’s valves and sensors can make or break the success of a test. There are some general rules that most users appreciate. For instance, if you are seeking leak detection equipment to test large-volume products such as urostomy bags, you would choose similarly large valves and ports to enable rapid pressurisation and a decrease in overall test cycle times. But, the design of optimal test circuits for medical device leak test applications is far more nuanced. Read more…

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Medtech Week Recap: Cordless Portable Device Developed by Fraunhofer Researchers Could Power Medical Implants

A cordless portable device developed at Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems can supply power to medical devices without touching them. The device can be attached to a belt and carried by the user. Read more…

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Dow Europe Unveils New Formulation and Testing Equipment at Its Performance Plastics Innovation Center

Dow Europe GmbH has unveiled enhanced formulation and testing capabilities at the Performance Plastics Innovation Center at Dow’s European headquarters in Horgen, Switzerland. The company will hold an open house on 12 April where it will demonstrate the new technology. During the event representatives from Nordson Engineering, Eastman Chemical Company, BASF, Albemarle and KraussMaffei Berstorff will give presentations on their technologies for these applications. For example, Nordson Engineering will discuss its coating and lamination line designed to help evaluate the processing performance of hot melt adhesives and prepare samples for adhesion testing. Applications include nonwoven top sheet and back sheet lamination for health and hygiene. Read more…

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German Researchers Develop 3-D Printing Method for Nanoscale Applications

A new 3-D printing method developed at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany could enable 3-D printing on the nanoscale, reports an article on the Engineer’s website. The method is a variation of another 3-D additive manufacturing technique, two-photon polymerisation (2PP), which can create features in nanometer resolutions, but not small enough to meet the definition of nanoscale. The new method could be used for tissue scaffolds and various other applications. There is no current fabrication method on the nanoscale, and researchers typically place two-dimensional parts on top of each other, says lead investigator Joachim Fischer in the article. Read more…

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Project Could Enable People to Design and Print Customised Robots in Less than a Day

Robot designed using the new process

Robotics is a growing field in electronic research, but progress is hampered by the time and money it takes to develop a robot and its hardware and software components. And why should scientists have all the fun? A project lead by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) aims to “democratise” access to robots, enabling people to make their own customised robots, according to a MIT press release. The project could have numerous applications in personalised healthcare, as well as in manufacturing, education and disaster relief. Read more…

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