Silicone in Minimally Invasive Surgery Applications
The application of silicone rubber in medical devices seems to be endless. Silicone has a proven track record of being a stable biomaterial and is available in a wide variety of medical- and implantable grades.
Specialty Silicone Fabricators specializes in manufacturing silicone medical devices such as tubing, sheeting, molded parts and combination products. One of the applications where they are involved is coating electrosurgical (“smart”) scalpels with silicone. The electrosurgical robots and instruments technology has been developed and refined over the years and used for many procedures today as the advantages to traditional surgery are significant (smaller scars, less bleeding, faster recovery etc).
Silicone coatings on the scalpel blade reduce friction and therefore, deliver a much smoother cut. Silicone coatings also help prevent the build-up of material on the blade during the procedure and significantly increases the ease of cleaning.
Watch this video where the Da Vinci Robot sews the skin back on a grape:
Silicone coatings can be applied to a wide variety of medical components, including metal parts, plastic, fabric and glass. SSF’s coating and dipping process is highly automated and validated and produces consistent and reproducible coat weights.
Contact MER if you are interested in getting more information about silicone products and solutions.
Update: MER does not represent this company anymore. However, if you are interested in the mentioned capabilities – please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be pleased to refer you.