Meet the BIOMEDevice Boston Innovation Prize Finalists

An affordable professional-grade 3-D printer and easily customized medical device motors are among the exhibitor innovations that will compete at the April 13-14 show in Boston.

Chris Newmarker

Visit BIOMEDevice Boston and help us pick the BIOMEDevice Boston Innovation Prize winner among these five finalists, gleaned out of a group of 10 semifinalists. (The Innovation Tour to pick the winner will depart from Center Stage at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13.) 

Formlabs (Booth #1113)

An Affordable Professional-grade 3-D Printer

Formlabs (Somerville, MA), which has a professional grade 3-D printer called the Form 2 that costs $3,499, won the Minnesota Medtech Week Innovation Prize in November after impressing a tour group of attendees at the Minneapolis show. They're hoping to repeat the same feat in Boston.

The Form 2 uses a precisely guided laser to cure a photopolymer resin. The company boasts that the technology allows for unprecedented accuracy and precision at an affordable price point. Such stereolithography 3-D printing technology has run into the tens of thousands of dollars in the past.

"The Form 2 keeps production in-house. In a few hours, you can create multiple high-resolution prints at a low cost. This process is much cheaper, faster, and easier," the company boasts in its entry.

Maxon Precision Motors Inc. (Booth #412)

Easy and Fast Motor Customization

In November 2015, Maxon (Fall River, MA) introduced its ECX program, which is built around a line of high speed, sterilizable motors for medical device applications such as hand held tools, respirators, and instrumentation.

The company says in its entry: "Maxon's X program offers design engineers the ability to customize their micro drive online quickly and easily. The configurator provides a step by step assembly of the DC drive based on the design engineers' specifications. They can configure the gear stages, the motor bearings, the shafts, the encoder, and much more. Mechanical and electrical data, dimensional drawings, and CAD files can be downloaded immediately after the configuration has been completed. Maxon's lean automated process ensures that all drive versions are ready for shipment within 11 days."

Proto Labs (Booth #304)

An Automatic Interactive Quoting System for Prototyping

Quick-turn manufacturer Proto Labs (Maple Plain, MN) was runner-up for the MD&M West Innovation Prize with its automatic interactive quoting system for prototyping.

ProtoQuote is an automated interactive quoting system. It had its latest software version released last year. Using ProtoQuote, medical device engineers can upload their 3-D CAD model and receive free design for manufacturability analysis and real-time pricing information within hours. ProtoQuote enables OEM engineers to make needed prototype modifications early and often, according to Proto Labs.

Proto Labs says in its entry: "The software has been continuously enhanced to now offer a very detailed design analysis including an interactive three-dimensional image, which allows developers to review their part geometry and assess any potential design issues that are highlighted. The process is so automated that these interactive quotes are provided within hours."

RTP Co. (Booth #333)

Thermoplastics to Stand Up Against Hospital Disinfectants

RTP Co. (Winona, MN) in May 2015 announced the development of its RTP 2000 HC series of thermoplastic compounds. The RTP 2000 HC series is meant to stay tough when it comes to hospital disinfectants, maintaining strength, functionality, and integrity after repeated exposure. Based on a proprietary alloy technology that combines resins and additives, the RTP 2000 HC plastics open up new possibilities, according to RTP. "The RTP 2000 HC series provides a viable solution to a widespread problem: the damage and premature, catastrophic failure of plastic devices, equipment, and housings caused by harsh cleaners and disinfectants used in medical settings," the company says in its entry.

The plastics could enable better design of devices such as mobile ultrasound and x-ray machines, enteral feeding devices, drug infusion pumps, blood filtration equipment, and more.

The RTP 2000 HC series allowed RTP to become a semifinalist for the Minnesota Medtech Week Innovation Prize last year.

SUSE (Booth #405)

Live Operating System Patching

Enterprise Linux company SUSE (Cambridge, MA) has pioneered technology to perform "live patching" that does not require a reboot of kernel. SUSE says in its entry: "Using live patching, you can easily apply a kernel patch when you need to and not wait for a system shutdown." The live patching technology was part of the SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 Service Pack 1 introduced in recent months.

The live patching is beneficial for medical device OEMs because it increases service availability, reduces planned or unplanned downtime, and maintains security and stability, according to SUSE. The company was an MD&M West Innovation Prize for innovations related to the SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 Service Pack 1.

Chris Newmarker is senior editor of Qmed and MPMN. Follow him on Twitter at @newmarker.

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