Applications of the medical tube

The applications of a medical tube are endless and so should the variations in manufacturing be. Here are only a few common uses of the medical tube:

• Feeding tubes
• Stethoscopes
• Blood pressure metres
• Catheters
• Drips
• Oxygen masks
• X-ray machines
• Various needles
• Various cardiovascular applications
• Stents

Materials the medical tube is made of

The different applications of the medical tube require a variation of materials. These are a few of the materials used in the manufacture of medical tubes:

• Stainless Steel – this is used for the heat and stain resistant qualities
• Plastic – where the tube needs to be flexible, yet sturdy
• Latex – where the medical tube needs to be elastic, flexible and unobtrusive.

The shape, size and colour of the medical tube

Depending on their requirements, and the subsequent material of the medical tube, it has variations in shape and size. Shannon MicroCoil can supply in all these medical tubing requirements.

• As some medical tubes need to be bent in order to access hard to reach places, the stainless steel medical tubes get bent with the use of mandrels.
• Others get used as needles and therefore need to be as thin as possible. Here they are manufactured with thin walls, allowing the flow of liquid, yet causing as little pain and scarring as possible.
• As various different fluids need to move through medical tubes, they are produced in various widths or diameter, allowing either the specific fluid optimal movement.
• In addition diameter differences in the medical tube is required for insertion into different areas such as inside the human body or as parts of other medical equipment.
• This leads to another important specification of medical tubing, namely the length. Shannon MicroCoil are able to cut the medical tube down to a length of 2mm.
• Lastly colour is also specified and can be delivered by Shannon MicroCoil. Some plastic and latex medical tubes need to be see-through and others should rather be opaque so the substance cannot be identified or seen. Apart from that different colours may be required for different applications, such as in a children’s ward.

Shannon MicroCoil are quality manufacturers and suppliers of the medical tube and deliver only the highest quality of product and ensure customer satisfaction and patient well being. Visit our website today to obtain a quote and specify your medical tube requirements.

These engineers are all qualified from some of the finest national universities and are passionate about developing the devices that assist in saving lives and improving general standards of living for individuals with medical problems.  They particularly enjoy the medical engineering challenge laid before them when a Shannon MicroCoil client approaches them with a new idea and requirement for a medical device.

The medical engineering fields of expertise at Shannon MicroCoil are as follows:

Microcoiling

As the name of this medical manufacturer suggests, Shannon MicroCoil specialise in the medical engineering of medical coils in various shapes, materials and for various applications. Some of these applications include neurovascular devices, cardiovascular devices, market fiducials and shaft reinforcements.

Wire Forming

These pieces of stainless steel and alloy get bent in every shape required for the medical devices the Shannon MicroCoil clients come up with. However, to make sure these concepts are practically applicable and sound for medical use, the devoted medical engineering team at Shannon MicroCoil is responsible for the design and testing of the devices, as well as process control. Some of the wire bending processes overseen by the medical engineering team are:

• Straightening
• Bending
• Swaging
• Looping
• Flattening
• Radiusing
• Stamping
• Knurling

Welding

Although welding sounds like a rather simple task, anything that affects the medical field needs to be approached and performed with the greatest of care and responsibility. Shannon MicroCoil also make use of medical engineering in their welding processes, to see that the devices are welded and manufactured according to specifications and required quality standards – whether it be welded with plasma, SC Resistance, or laser.

Grinding

As ShannonMicroCoil offer both single and multi taper grinding of a wires, tubing, mandrels and stylets. They make use of medical engineering in the gringing proccesses of profile, paper, sep, flat or o/d grinding, to oversee the quality and effeciency of these grinding proccesses.

Look to Shannon MicroCoil if you want to have peace of mind that your medical devices have been designed and manufactured with the use of sound medical engineering.

General uses of mandrels

Mandrels are generally used for bending and winding, of tough materials in a way that forms gradual, smooth bends. They can also be used as components of equipment in for turning or keeping something in position. Some of the fields where mandrels are used on a daily basis are:

• The motoring industry for the bending of exhaust pipes
• In fibre optics – the fibre is wound around the mandrel as part of the production process
• The jewellery industry – to shape rings and other pieces of jewellery to specific requirements
• General device and equipment manufacturing – this is where Shannon MicroCoil fit in

Shannon MicroCoil mandrels – materials

Although Shannon MicroCoil prefer the use of 304 stainless steel in all their devices for its shape retention and heat and rust resistant qualities, they offer mandrels in various materials, including alloy and copper.

Shannon MicroCoil mandrels – specifications

Because of the wide application of mandrels just within the medical field, Shannon MicroCoil manufacture their mandrels to a variety of specifications and also custom-make mandrels for their clients. These specifications include:

• Mandrels from 0.014 inches upwards
• Mandrels in solid wire, rod or tube form
• Grooved mandrels where required
• Mandrels that are round, taper, step of flare

Shannon MicroCoil mandrels – coatings

Shannon MicroCoil’s mandrels can be made with different coatings to suit the specific application:

• PTFE – this carbon and fluorine coating is water, friction, corrosion, reaction and stick resistant.
• Parylene – this protective and lubricating coating conforms to any shape, so every inch of the strangely shaped mandrel is covered in non-stick protection.

Shannon MicroCoil mandrels – quality

As the manufacturing of medical devices and thereby improving people’s health is their business, Shannon MicroCoil comply with all the required standards and regulations of the European Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC and its applicable standard ISO 13485. As such they are BSI, Qmed and IMDA certified.

In order to ensure that these stringent quality and satisfaction standards are met, Shannon MicroCoil have a set process to follow when clients approach them for the custom manufacture of medical tubing.

The process of manufacturing your customised medical tubing

• Discussion – In this first phase the client discuss their medical tubing needs with Shannon MicroCoil’s dedicated team of engineers and designers. This includes the application of the medical tubing, the special requirements in terms of coatings and or manufacturing techniques, the material used, and the actual specifications of length, wall width and diameter.
• Prototypes – Here the specifications are followed and a prototype of the medical tubing is delivered. After being tested by Shannon MicroCoil’s own staff, it gets presented to the client. Here adjustments and recommendations can be made as the prototype goes back and forth between engineers and clients, until perfected.
• Freeze and Clinical Evaluation – Once the client is satisfied with the medical tubing proposed by Shannon MicroCoil, all the paperwork is finalised and certainly is obtained on whether the medical tubing meet all the national standards and requirements.
• Production – The production plan is set out with processes, and time lines and once approved by all, the production of the clients customised medical tubing takes place.

Shannon MicroCoil also offer the packaging and shipment services associated with medical tubing and have a wide range of medical tubing in stock, should the client’s requirements be less specialised. These include differing materials (including plastic and stainless steel), colours and measurements.

Medical Tubing is one of Shannon MicroCoil’s fields of expertise and as such, they are serious about delivering the most satisfactory product, of the highest standard.

Why they use 304 Stainless Steel

Shannon MicroCoil prefer manufacturing their medical devices from 304 Stainless Steel because it is the material guaranteed to deliver the highest quality product, most suited to specific requirements, at a reasonable price point. 304 Stainless Steel, as opposed to other stainless steels, contains 18% chromium and 8% nickel, which lends it the correct mix of qualities, making it ideal for the medical devices industry. The advantages to using 304 Stainless Steel include:

• It has the widest range of applications – one material can be used for many different devices, in many different device applications
• It does not stain – it can be reused in the medical field
• It does not rust – it is hygienic and there never is a chance of infection caused by rust
• It does not corrode – hygienic and the devices stay intact, no matter the substances they carry or get exposed to
• 100% recyclable – once the device has served its purpose or reached its end-of-life, it can be disposed of without harming the environment, or reused in other industries
• Not magnetic – causing to complications in the operating rooms or inside the human body
• Heat resistant –  can withstand varying temperatures while being used in manufacturing, as well as medical device application, without changing shape
• Moulding – can only be reshaped when exposed to the correct temperatures and processes and therefore cannot accidentally loose shape, but can also be customised

What Shannon MicroCoil utilise 304 Stainless Steel for

Shannon MicroCoil specialise in only certain medical devices in order to make sure that these are manufactured with expertise and quality. The devices Shannon MicroCoil manufacture from 304 Stainless Steel include:

• Mandrels
• Medical tubes
• Speciality guidewires
• Wire Coils
• Wire forms

Because Shannon MicroCoil custom-make their medical devices, they manufacture in all the most common medical device material, such as plastic and alloys. However, they prefer delivering products made from 304 Stainless Steel, as they are convinced that this is the material guaranteed to meet all the requirements of medical devices.

MM LIVE UK 2012 – The International forum for Micro and Precision Manufacturing

Shannon Micro Coil will be attending MM Live UK on the 25-26th September 2012, NEC, Birmingham.

Stand H32, Hall 3.

We look forward to meeting  you there.

Ger Mullane

Sales & Marketing Manager

Key Features

• Anti-stick
• Non-flaking
• Close tolerances
• Chemically inert
• Bio-compatibility
• Abrasion resistant
• Chemical resistant
• Corrosion resistant

Irish Ambassador to Germany Dan Mulhall and Minister of State Paul Kehoe with Ger Mullane Sales and Marketing Manager at SMC and Jimmy Moore Product Development Engineer at SMC.

Thank you to all who visited us at Medtec 2012.

It was a pleasure having you on our booth!

Common problems with medical tubing

Among the most common problems with medical tubing are misconnections, corrosion, spread of infection, shape retention upon cooling, and acquiring the right diameter and consistent wall thickness.

Misconnections in tubing in IV drips, catheters and breathing apparatus can lead to serious problems for patients. This unnecessary complication can easily be avoided when the medical tubing is manufactured according to the specifications, with a consistent wall thickness.  Another complication that can arise from an uneven wall thickness is an uneven flow of oxygen or fluid, which can cause complications for a patient dependant on those fluids.

As medical tubing sometimes gets used for measuring purposes, it is important that no shape change sets it once extracted and cooled.  For this reason 304 stainless steel, with its excellent shape retention qualities, is of the best material for medical tubing, and preferred by Shannon MicroCoil.

Applications of medical tubing

Shannon MicroCoil specialise in the manufacture of medical devices such as medical tubing and are well aware of the important roll it plays in the medical industry.  They also know that badly manufactured medical tubing, or specifications that do not fit the practical applications, can have fatal consequences.

They manufacture medical tubing with or without PTFE and Parylene coatings, from a variety of materials. 304 stainless steel is the material of choice because of its superior qualities, such as resistance to corrosion. Their medical tubing can be custom manufactured according to client requirements in terms of diameter and length. With sizes as small as needle sizes and 2 millimetres in length, they specialise in thin wall sizes for access into narrow and enclosed areas.

Their tubes are ideally suited for the following applications:

• Catheter tubing
• Oxygen tubing
• Air transfer
• Fluid transfer
• Intravascular tubing
• IV Sets
• Swabs
• Cardiac catheter packaging
• Pipettes
• Needles

For the supply of such widely applicable, yet tailor made devices such as medical tubing, one should look at the specialists to ensure requirements are met and patients are in good health.  Shannon MicroCoil offer such high quality, well designed and affordable medical devices.

Furthering these advances in medical engineering is the continued need for better ways to deal with illnesses and advancement in technology making these conceptual medical devices a reality. One of the most common and dynamic fields of medical engineering is bioinstrumentation.  This is the field in which Shannon MicroCoil operate.

They take great pride in the quality that goes into their manufactured medical devices, from the engineering phase, through the clean room manufacturing, to the hygienic packaging.  Although all the parts make a whole and none of their devices would be of such high a standard without each phase in the manufacturing process, a great deal of effort and thought needs to go into the medical engineering of the devices. If this basic phase is not completed with ingenuity and meticulous care, none of the other following phases can produce a quality product – not for all the dedicated workmanship in the world.

For this reason Shannon MicroCoil specialise in the medical engineering of certain devices that have been designed by their dedicated team of medical engineers.  These devices or components are engineered to operate at a maximum level of efficiency in conjunctinn with other devices, or as tools in medical procedures. The medical devices engineered and manufactured by Shannon MicroCoil include:

• Flat and Round Wire Coils
• Wire forms
• Speciality guide wires
• Mandrels
• Tubing
• Integra shaft reinforcement coils

Medical engineers have been responsible for prolonging many lives and Shannon MicroCoil aim to continue this culture of excellence in their medical engineering work.  They take the greatest care in selecting their medical engineers and materials. And so should you when considering a medical device manufacturer.