Originally Published MPMN March 2002

SPECIAL

Guidewire material eliminates superelastic plateau

At its booth at the Medica show in Düsseldorf, Germany, the company Furukawa Electric Europe Ltd. (London; www.fitec.co.jp/ftm/nt-e) introduced visitors to a high-stiffness guidewire with no yield point and no superelastic plateau. The guidewire material, called FHP-NT, is unique in its combination of stiffness and straightness (the material is nearly as stiff as stainless steel) with flexibility and kink resistance. FHP-NT offers high torque transmission and is designed to allow medical manufacturers to produce guidewires without infringing on a well-known international patent. According to Andrew Proffitt, technical sales manager at Furukawa, this is a "tremendous opportunity."

Proffitt explains that Furukawa melts the nitinol alloy in-house, which provides the company with a high degree of control over the material. "We are a raw material supplier, but we have expertise in the medical industry. This allows us to develop different grades of alloy for specific applications," he says, noting that the company supplies nitinol in coil springs, tube, and wires. Proffitt adds that visitors at the show expressed high interest in Furukawa's FHP material.

Benjamin Lichtman, Norbert Sparrow, Katherine Sweeny, Zachary Turke, and Susan Wallace

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