VisiMark® is a product of Surface Solutions Group, Inc. (SSG) to enhance medical devices with a low friction polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coating and permanent visible marks. Markings often include permanent alpha-numeric characters that denote manufacturing codes, dates, and style along with banding. Many combinations of contrasted markings can be applied by SSG during the coating process…

Medicine is moving towards more technologically advanced systems and surgeons are the prominent users of these instruments. Disposable electrosurgical blades and tip coatings offer unsurpassed performance and design features. During surgery, a surgeon needs a set number of tools that are specific to the operation and that must be accounted for throughout the procedure. During electrosurgery high…

In the medical field, technology is making an impact in many forms, especially in the area of medical devices. Hydrophilic coatings are just one of those booming innovations. Hydrophilic coatings are suitable for vascular catheters, guidewires and a wide range of polymeric and metallic substances. The mechanism through which the hydrophilic coating alters the chemical interaction…

When it comes to non-stick coating, we often think of pots, pans, and various kitchen utensils. However, coating services are not limited to the food processing industry but are rather an integral part of a variety of industries which we rely on heavily. These include the medical, industrial, automotive, and chemical processing trades, all of which…

An antimicrobial coating can be applied to great variety of products, and industries that have benefited from this pathogen-killing technology include the medical, industrial, food processing, automotive, and chemical processing industries. The industry that has most benefited from antimicrobial coatings, and for which this technology is most utilized, is the medical industry, and here it is largely used…

What is Pretreatment? Pretreatment for PTFE coating is the preparation of metal surfaces for application of PFOA-free PTFE coatings. This is an essential step in the production process, as it allows the coating to properly adhere to the metal surface. This helps prevent against the flaking of coatings, which can lead to serious problems, such…

The medtech industry appears to have a flaking wires issue-and the main answer to it may involve more stringent fundamentals around a gold-standard coating substance that has lost some of its luster. by Chris Newmarker as seen in Qmed The importance of fundamentals is the main lesson that Chicago-based Surface Solutions Group has learned over the…

Watch as Bruce Nesbitt explains the mandatory removal of PFOA from the presently specified PTFE coatings and the EPA’s position on the new regulations. Then, he covers the range of new coatings that are being developed and tested that comply with the EPA regulations and the pros and cons of each new type of coating….

Micron-accurate Coating Equal to Medical Device Tolerances With most biomedical procedures, success is measured in fractions of an inch–more commonly, microns. Exact friction-free insertion of guidewires, hypotubes, catheters, cannulas, stents, balloons, drug-delivery catheters, cameras, and tissue samplers is critical to the success and safety of every procedure. PTFE-coated guidewires are often used in the first…

Recall is the last word a biomedical business wants to hear. But that is what struck the guidewire industry last year after a voluntary recall – that the FDA classified as Class 1– for stainless steel guidewires going back to April 2013. The problem was poor adhesion of an aqueous PFOA-free PTFE coating that resulted in flakes…

Why the Solution to PTFE Adhesion to Guidewires is Not a Material Swap As seen in Q-Med The demand by the EPA that manufacturers eliminate PFOA from their PTFE formulations by 2015 appears related to a series of crises for some medical manufacturers due to loss of coating adhesion on guidewires. A recent FDA Class I recall notice states: “There…