CI Medical has developed break-through technology which enables the use of its trademarked Radiopaque® ink on silicone medical devices. Historically, bonding to silicone has been challenging due to low surface energy of this elastomer. Through a proprietary process combining Radiopaque® ink created by CI Medical with a binder exclusively formulated for its use by NuSil Technology, CI has developed the technology which results in permanent Radiopaque® marking on silicone medical devices.
Norton, MA…..CI Medical, Inc., specialist in medical imprinting technology, (www.cimedical.com ), now offers an exclusive Radiopaque® ink marking system which enables adhesion to implantable silicone medical devices. Historically, most materials bond poorly to silicone due to the low surface energy of the elastomer. This is further exacerbated when Radiopaque® fillers developed by CI Medical are added to the base ink material to provide radio opacity. To address this challenge, CI Medical developed a Radiopaque® ink which uses a NuSil Technology formulated heat curable binder designed exclusively for them. This binder, when combined with CI Medical’s proprietary Radiopaque® ink formulation, not only adheres permanently to a device’s silicone surface, but also allows the silicone to retain its natural flexibility. This innovative new ink system provides the Radiopaque® qualities which allow surgeons to track and/or "read" those devices after they have been implanted within a patient’s body. Coupled with fluoroscopy, Radiopaque® ink provides surgeons complete visibility of marked medical device components implanted beneath the skin or deep within the body. Such "x-ray vision" may be required by surgeons for purposes such as proper device positioning and/or device identification. Implantable devices already utilizing Radiopaque® ink technology by CI Medical include pacemakers and chemotherapy ports, as well as catheters. Additional applications include fabrics used in stenting and spinal procedures.
For more than 5 years, CI Medical, Inc. has been partnering with major medical OEM’s such as Boston Scientific, St. Jude Medical and Medtronic to customize medical devices requiring these advanced Radiopaque® ink markings. Custom formulations of CI’s Radiopaque® ink have been successfully developed for use on a broad list of substrate materials, including, most recently, silicone. For more information on Radiopaque® ink, visit http://www.cimedical.com/Inks/radiopaque-ink.html or contact Bruce Mahan, Engineering Manager, at (800) 666-4016.
CI Medical, Inc. provides critical printing / marking / labeling services to Medical Device Manufacturers. Established in 1985, CI Medical is the only ISO 9001:2008 certified, pad imprinting company in the U.S. catering exclusively to the marking needs of the medical device industry.
Working as Supplier Partners with medical device engineers at the embryonic stages of new product design, CI Medical can provide a full range of creative problem solving techniques. CI Medical's volume market ranges from the prototype through full production runs into the millions.