With articulating instruments, contract manufacturers must understand the nature of these tools to effectively design functional, high-quality components, keeping in mind the number of times a tube must articulate, the degree of articulation, and how the instrument will interact with human anatomy. All of these considerations will impact material selection, laser-cut geometry, and what post-processing will be needed to achieve the desired shape and properties.
-Steve Santoro, MICRO
Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is a mainstay of orthopedic procedures because it reduces trauma and pain, reduces hospital stays, and enables same-day surgeries, faster recoveries, and lower costs. It also can reduce surgeon fatigue.
MIS innovation is driven by enabling technologies that allow surgeons to do more complex surgeries less invasively, especially with enhanced visualization and navigation, real-time feedback tools and use of smaller and fewer access ports.
Single-use devices are another trend in MIS for which demand is growing, noted MICRO’s Steve Santoro in an online feature article in Orthopedic Design and Technology (ODT). Contract manufacturers can use a design for manufacturability (DFM) approach, he noted, to identify raw materials needed for high-volume single-use parts that match functional requirements with the optional engineering process.
DFM can help in creating processes that will optimize the manufacturing process of high-volume parts or products by lessening steps and ensuring standardization in parts quality—thereby shortening design and development cycles.
In the article, Santoro explained that with articulating instruments, it is especially important that manufacturers understand the nature of these tools to effectively design functional, high-quality components, keeping in mind the number of times a tube must articulate, the degree of articulation, and how the instrument will interact with human anatomy.
These considerations will impact material selection, laser-cut geometry, and the post-processing needs that will be required to achieve the desired shape and properties of the final part or product.