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A miracle of modern medicine, interventional stent therapy opens up clogged heart and peripheral vessels to restore normal blood flow, minimize damage to the heart muscle, and reduce incidence of heart attacks. Manufacturing stent delivery systems, however, was a slow, labor-intensive manual process-often taking 45 minutes per system. That changed in 2001 when Machine Solutions, Inc. (MSI) introduced equipment engineered around patented technology to automate the processes and deliver unmatched precision and repeatability, while cutting processing time down to seconds. The automated equipment pleats and folds balloon catheters and crimps metal stents, compressing them down to small enough diameter and optimized profile for insertion into the body through a blood vessel. The MSI machines combine patented segmental compression technology (US#6,629,350) with Renishaw RGH24/25 optical encoders to "pack the charge" for precise, predictable expandability when positioned at the point of blockage. The innovative designs have quickly made Machine Solutions a global leader of automation technologies for stent and catheter manufacturers.
30 second Pleating and Folding
Balloon Form/Fold/Set (FFS) equipment from MSI uses the patented compression capability in a unique WavePleat'" Technology mechanism to pleat and compactly fold angioplasty and stent deployment balloon catheters. The WavePleat Technology process quickly produces precise, consistent, and repeatable balloon profiles without the need for operator hand folding. The automated process takes 30 seconds on average, says Scott Mickelson, project manager on MSI's design team. This compares with up to 45 minutes or longer for sequential manual pleating, folding, and thermal stabilization.
"Besides the enormous labor savings for stent manufacturers, automation also ensures a more precise and repeatable process," says Mickelson. Such precision...