Non-metallic shafts deliver needed rigidity and strength without conducting electricity.
Polygon has designed custom composite shafts for a leading advanced energy medical device company manufacturing plasma-mediated ablation devices.
The customer is a leading innovator in advanced energy medical device design and manufacturing. The company delivers unique energy solutions for cosmetic surgery and medical technology applications. In particular, they have developed plasma-mediated ablation technology that is highly focused and thus causes negligible heat transfer or damage to surrounding tissues, which improves patient outcomes and physicians’ experiences. They needed a shaft for the product that would be flexible and have a high dielectric strength. And since the shaft is being used in an electrosurgical tool, all of the materials had to be biocompatible. Though stainless steel has some of the necessary features, such as rigidity and ease of assembly, it wasn’t suitable for this application because of the required dielectric strength.
Though some plasma-mediated ablation technology relies on stainless steel shafts, that material’s electrical conductivity can actually pose a risk to patients and medical providers. The customer turned to Polygon for a composite shaft that would still meet specifications for rigidity and strength, but would improve safety through the use of non-conductive biocompatible materials. Polygon has been able to customize the composite structure and shaft machining precisely to the customer’s needs, thus ensuring a superior quality end product.
“With the composite shafts in place, there are no negative effects to a patient’s skin or incision port, and the electrosurgical technology is able to maintain the needed balance between flexibility and rigidity.” said an experienced engineer at the client company. “In addition, the tubes are capable of tolerating ethylene oxide sterilization, and also accept ink well for our logo and printed lines indicating the depth of the probe. We have had good success in working with the design and engineering team at Polygon, who are willing to address challenges as they arise and collaborate on packaging and process improvements. They’re the kind of supplier we like to work with.”