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TECHNOLOGY
Trend for Miniaturisation in Medical Technology
Systems and Components for Telemedicine and Point-of-Care
Diagnostics
"Medical
and microsystem technology are top of the list of
technologies in which Germany is leading the field",
declares Dr. Gerhard Finking, the Ministerial Counsellor
at the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research
(BMBF). And if there was ever an event at which these two
innovations come together to complement each other
perfectly, it’s the ComPaMED. This leading international
trade fair for medical device suppliers was held parallel
to the MEDICA at the Düsseldorf Trade Fair Centre for the
14th time, serving as further confirmation that innovative
materials, miniaturised components and increasingly
complex systems are important drivers of technology in a
market which is currently estimated at over 180 billion
euros.
Financial
pressure, particularly in the health sector, means that
telemedicine is increasing in importance: "We now have the
technology to monitor and care for people on an outpatient
basis", explains Professor Harald Korb, Director of
Personal HealthCare Telemedicine Services GmbH
(Düsseldorf). In particular, there are opportunities for
decisive progress in combating cardiovascular disease,
which is, with 40,000 cases, still the number 1 killer in
Germany. Around 35 billion euros per year are spent on its
treatment. According to a position paper by the VDE
MikroMedizin Initiative (VDE stands for Verband der
Elektrotechnik, Elektronik und Informationstechnik, the
Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information
Technologies, based in Frankfurt a.M.), early detection
through telemonitoring enables cost savings of at least 30
per cent.
Tooth
Implant Releases Medication into the Mouth
A further
example of MST is the "Intellidrug" system developed by
the Institute for Micro- and Information Technology (IMIT)
of the Hahn-Schickard-Gesellschaft in
Villingen-Schwenningen. The aim of this project was to
create an automatic dosing system for medicines which is
implanted in the patient’s jaw like a double molar and
releases its active substances into the body through the
mucous membranes of the mouth. "There are a great many
advantages to this arrangement", explains Jörg Kohnle, who
is responsible for microfluids at IMIT. "The component is
easy to access for refilling with active substances and
changing the battery, while the mouth provides a
considerably less stressful environment for the medication
than the chemically-aggressive gastrointestinal tract."
This innovative approach is targeted mainly at addicts,
who often have problems taking regular medication. Since
many of these addicts have bad teeth anyway, it is usually
possible to implement the solution without the loss of
healthy teeth. "We now want to make our system even
smaller and to extend its autonomous effective time, which
is currently 14 days", Kohnle explains, talking about his
company’s plans for the future.
Synthetic
materials are playing an increasingly important role in
the world of micro components. This is also true for
lab-on-a-chip systems, which integrate several steps for
processing samples (e.g. blood) into the surface of a
microscope slide. An important component for transporting
samples and reagents are micro pumps, which are produced
by thinXXS GmbH (Mainz/Zweibrücken), using synthetic
materials. A tiny pump, measuring just 25mm in diameter
and 5mm in height, made its debut at the ComPaMED. "There
are always new synthetic compounds with tailor-made
properties being made available. This opens up completely
new manufacturing and design opportunities", says
Friedrich Echterdiek, CEO of Spang & Brands GmbH in
Friedrichsdorf, which produces high-quality synthetic
components and system solutions for the medical industry.
"The trend for synthetics is continuing, because the
components we need can be produced cost-effectively and in
large quantities", confirms Armin Hossinger, CEO of
Hossinger Kunststofftechnik GmbH (Roding-Mitterdorf). The
company developed an active CPAP generator for nebulising
medicines, a world first in "preemie" therapy, for Medin.
The CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) system is a
ventilation therapy for use in intensive care which
requires the patient to be able to breathe independently.
The single-use product consists entirely of polymers.
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