Medical Design and Outsourcing Archives - Page 103 of 154

Traco Power launches THM 60WI DC-DC converters

[Image from Traco Power]

Traco Power today announced it has launched its THM 60WI series of quarter brick DC-DC converters.

The San Jose, California-based company designed the DC-DC converters with ultra-wide input ranges and safety approvals for medical and industrial applications.

Traco Power’s THM 60WI series of converters consists of 12 models with 9-75 or 18-75 Vin ranges with single and dual outputs of 5.1, 12, 15, 24, ±12 or ±15 V with up to 92% efficiency, according to the company.

Each model has a 2.3 in. by 1.45 in. plastic case; EMC compliance to IEC 60601-1-2 4th edition; 5,000 VAC reinforced I/O isolation & low leakage current <4.5 µA; remote on/off control; remote sense; output voltage trim; under-voltage input, short-circuit, over-temperature and over-voltage protection; operating temperature range of -40°C up to +75°C (ambient) and optional heatsink available for incre…

The 10 largest medtech employers of 2021 – and what their employees really think

Employees of the 10 largest medtech employers are proud of working on life-saving products — with a greater appreciation for diversity and inclusion initiatives.

That was one major takeaway as Medical Design & Outsourcing compiled some current and former employee reviews posted on Glassdoor. (Browse the online version of our Big 100 report.)

Despite the pride, there was also some frustration with big corporate bureaucracy.

Medtech employment in MDO‘s 2021 Big 100 was down slightly from our 2020 and 2019 reports — even as the industry continued to be on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s worth noting that of the nearly 90 companies in this year’s Big 100 that provided employment data, about half added workers amid the pandemic. Another handful kept their headcounts the same.

The companies are the largest medical device industry employers in our most recent annual Big 100 list, which includes the top 100 medtech comp…

COVID-19 test makers say their products also detect Omnicron

[Image from Pixabay]

Abbott, BD, Hologic, PerkinElmer and Thermo Fisher are reassuring the public that their COVID-19 tests detect the Omnicron variant.

Discovered last week in South Africa, the new variant has enough mutations that it has raised concerns worldwide — even though it is still unknown for sure whether the mutations cause greater transmissibility or vaccine evasion. The United States is among the countries restricting travel from southern Africa for the time being, and the CDC is advising all adults to get a booster shot.

Pfizer and Moderna say they’ll create new versions of their vaccines if needed.

Abbott said in a statement on November 27: “We have already conducted an assessment of the Omicron variant, and we’re confident our rapid and PCR tests can detect the virus. While the Omicron variant contains mutations to the spike protein, Abbott’s rapid and molec…

Could winged microchips monitor for airborne disease?

The flying microchips are each the size of a grain of sand. [Image courtesy of the Rogers Research Group/Northwestern University]

Northwestern University engineers have created what they claim are the smallest-ever human-made flying structures — winged microchips that could monitor the air for disease and pollution.

Engineering professor John Rogers and his team at Northwestern drew on inspiration from nature to create the microchips, which are the size of a grain of sand. The chips do not have engine-driven propellers. Instead, their wings catch the wind like maple tree or dandelion seeds; the most direct inspiration came from the star-shaped seeds of the tristellateia plant, a flowering vine.

The research appeared on the cover of the September 23 issue of Nature.

“Our goal was to add winged flight to small-scale electronic systems, with the idea that these capabilities would allow us to distribu…

November 2021 Issue: 2021 Big 100 – Medtech’s 100 Largest Players

People move the medtech industry forward

The term “supply chain” brings to mind cold, hard steel, rather than the living, breathing people who keep medical device manufacturing moving from start to finish.

The global scramble for semiconductors and raw materials like resin has confounded manufacturers across all industries, and we’re all feeling the pain of shipping delays, whether by sea, rail or road. Companies that are successfully keeping up or ramping up are quick to credit the people who make it happen, from engineering teams to procurement groups, warehouse workers and suppliers.

When automakers canceled their chip orders in anticipation of a long, deep pandemic recession, buyers in the medical device industry got even closer with their suppliers — and kept cash fl owing to the people who make and move the goods.

Everyone’s paying in minutes, hours, days and dollars for the shipping industry’s short-sighted layoffs, but the medtech indust…

Smith+Nephew expands reach of its Cori handheld robotic system

The Cori system includes a handheld cutting tool that has a robotic feature that automatically halts the spinning of the tool’s burr if it’s outside a digitally “painted” area. [Image from Smith+Nephew]

A year after Smith+Nephew (NYSE:SNN) launched its Cori handheld robotic system in the U.S., the ortho surgery system has launched globally.

The British medtech giant has expanded Cori’s reach to Europe, Australia and New Zealand, India, and Canada (just announced today). The company yesterday said the system was now available for use in the U.K.’s National Health Service.

Get the full story on our sister site MassDevice.

Elizabeth Holmes reportedly expresses remorse in criminal fraud trial

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes (center) arrives at federal court in San Jose, California on Aug. 31, 2021.[Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

Elizabeth Holmes reportedly revealed some regret over her handling of business as the ex-Theranos CEO took the stand again in a criminal fraud trial.

Taking the stand yesterday for the third day of testimony in federal court in San Jose, California, Holmes was said to have shown remorse while still shifting some of the blame onto others and remaining steadfast in her denial of accusations that she tried to hide that her company’s blood-testing methods weren’t working as planned, according to The Associated Press.

Holmes started Theranos in 2003 at age 19 claiming that the company would revolutionize blood testing with technology that could analyze tiny amounts of blood. Investigative reporting eventually dismantled Holmes’ claims,…

Supply chain, manufacturing issues slow Medtronic’s Hugo launch, ramp-up expected next fiscal year

Medtronic’s Hugo robot-assisted surgery system [Image courtesy of Medtronic]

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Chairman & CEO Geoff Martha confirmed that the launch of the Hugo surgical robot platform is slightly off-schedule.

Speaking on the company’s second-quarter earnings call today, Martha said the launch of the platform, which the company has developed to challenge Intuitive Surgical in the surgical robotics space, is “not on-schedule but not off-track” at this stage.

Hugo received CE mark approval last month and the company is gearing up to conduct its FDA investigational device exemption (IDE) clinical trials in the U.S., with more on the company’s stateside efforts still to come, President of Medtronic’s surgical robotics business, Megan Rosengarten, told MDO recently.

The launch that followed is currently in what Martha called a “limited-release phase” as the c…

Minnetronix Medical honored in Minnesota for its MindsEye Expandable Port

Minnetronix’s first product — the MindsEye Expandable Port — previously earned the “Best New Technology Solution – Surgical” award from MedTech Breakthrough, an independent market intelligence. [Image courtesy of Minnetronix]

Minnetronix Medical (St. Paul, Minn.) received an award from the Minnesota Technology Association that highlights its MindsEye Expandable Port for minimally invasive deep brain access.

The company won the association’s TEKNE award for best medical technology and devices.

“Given Minnesota is a global epicenter for the medical device industry, this award is quite meaningful to Minnetronix and our teams,” Minnetronix CEO Jeremy Maniak said in a news release. “MindsEye is an excellent example of how Minnetronix is bringing value and innovation to our customers and the industry.”

The first product that the contract manufacturer has created itself, the MindsEye device previou…

BD expands biosciences business with reagent innovation center in San Diego

[Image courtesy of Breakthrough]

A life sciences real estate developer announced today that BD (NYSE:BDX) selected its property as a new facility for its biosciences business.

Through a joint venture with Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital, Breakthrough Properties confirmed that BD chose its Torrey View by Breakthrough property for an expanded San Diego reagent innovation center within its biosciences segment.

“We are thrilled to welcome BD Biosciences to Torrey View and the broader Breakthrough family,” Breakthrough Properties EVP for Operations Susie Harborth said in a news release. “BD is exactly the type of dynamic and fast-growing firm we had in mind when we set out to create this life science campus. We are honored and proud to support a company that plays such a critical role in advancing the world of health.”

Torrey View, a 10-acre life sciences R&D campus, featu…

BD expands biosciences business with reagent innovation center in San Diego

[Image courtesy of Breakthrough]

A life sciences real estate developer announced today that BD (NYSE:BDX) selected its property as a new facility for its biosciences business.

Through a joint venture with Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital, Breakthrough Properties confirmed that BD chose its Torrey View by Breakthrough property for an expanded San Diego reagent innovation center within its biosciences segment.

“We are thrilled to welcome BD Biosciences to Torrey View and the broader Breakthrough family,” Breakthrough Properties EVP for Operations Susie Harborth said in a news release. “BD is exactly the type of dynamic and fast-growing firm we had in mind when we set out to create this life science campus. We are honored and proud to support a company that plays such a critical role in advancing the world of health.”

Torrey View, a 10-acre life sciences R&D campus, featu…

The best places to work for medtech sales reps in 2022

Teleflex (NYSE:TFX), ConMed (NSDQ:CNMD) and Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) topped the list of best places to work in medtech sales in 2022, according to a MedReps.com survey of medical sales representatives.

The 11th annual MedReps survey polled over 2,300 MedReps professionals to determine which medtech sales companies are most sought-after in the industry.

Overall, pay and leadership were the most important considerations in an employer, followed closely by culture, according to the survey.

“Given the continued challenges medical sales reps faced in 2021, valuing leadership and culture in their place of work isn’t a surprise – and it’s important to recognize employers, like these companies on this list, that are doing much to support their employees,” MedReps CEO Josh Goodwin said in a news release. “We’re thrilled to highlight deserving employers to our community of medical sales professionals.”

Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging was ranked as im…