ilika Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Cirtec and Ilika finalize Stereax battery manufacturing deal

Ilika’s Stereax M300 battery with a pen and pencil for scale [Photo courtesy of Ilika]

Battery developer Ilika has signed a 10-year deal for Cirtec Medical to manufacture Stereax batteries in Lowell, Massachusetts.

The two medtech suppliers announced their partnership on the millimeter-scale, solid-state batteries in January. Now, Ilika and Cirtec Medical say they have “concluded contractual negotiations” with the decade-long manufacturing license.

The ultrathin, rechargeable Stereax batteries can enable medical device developers to design smaller implants, wearable devices, sensors and other smart components.

Related: How tiny solid-state batteries enable smaller implants that recharge faster

Select medtech developers have already received limited shipments of Stereax batteries from Romsey, England-based Ilika’s U.K. manufacturing facility.

The first shipmen…

4 tips for sensor miniaturization from Lura Health

This rendering shows Lura Health’s saliva sensor in a retainer [Image courtesy of Lura Health]

Being in China when COVID-19 hit might not seem like a stroke of good luck, but it paid off for Lura Health’s sensor miniaturization efforts.

Without a physical presence in Shenzhen, the minature sensor startup might not have been able to line up a battery supplier willing to take on the demanding needs of Lura Health’s saliva sensor, said co-founder and CEO Daniel Weinstein.

“Supply chain right now is super difficult. Vendor agreements are pretty crazy. [Just about] every PCBA house in the country is backed up with a huge backlog,” Weinstein said in an interview with Medical Design & Outsourcing.

“Our strength as a company is trying to find ways to beat the odds that are against companies — especially startups — in this industry,” he continued. “WeR…

Ilika and Cirtec partner on mini solid state batteries

Ilika and Cirtec Medical say they have entered into a manufacturing and commercialization partnership for Ilika’s Stereax line of miniature, solid-state batteries.

The companies’ memorandum of understanding outlines the transfer of Stereax millimeter-scale battery manufacturing to Cirtec’s production facility in Lowell, Massachusetts.

RELATED: How tiny solid-state batteries enable smaller implants that recharge faster

The deal reinforces Brooklyn Park, Minnesota-based Cirtec’s activities in system-level miniaturization for the medical device industry, the companies said in a news release.

“With over 20 years of experience in the design, development and manufacturing of medical devices, Cirtec is uniquely poised to work with Ilika in bringing its Stereax battery technology to market,” Cirtec CEO Brian Highley said in the news release. “We believe this collaboration fits right into our strengths and expands upon o…

How tiny solid-state batteries enable smaller implants that recharge faster

Ilika’s Stereax M300 solid-state battery on a finger for scale [Photo courtesy of Ilika]

With a solid electrolyte, high energy density and thin packaging, solid-state batteries are getting smaller and enabling devices to be implanted in more parts of the body.

Denis Pasero, Ilika

It has been more than six decades since Åke Senning implanted the first heart pacemaker in a patient. Even though today’s pacemakers have improved treatment considerably, the same principles apply: power is supplied from a battery to a pulse generator to maintain an adequate heart rate in the patient.

A similar principle can be applied to medical practices such as neuromodulation, which alters nerve activity through targeted electrical stimulus. Neuromodulation was originally developed to treat chronic pain through deep brain stimulation, but as the subject has become more widely understood, its use has spread from pain reli…