Machine Solutions Inc. (MSI; Flagstaff, AZ) and Protomed S.A. (Marseille, France) have signed an exclusive distribution deal that entails MSI's use of Protomed's testing capabilities. The agreement will enable MSI to add hydrodynamic performance and high-end interventional device testing to its portfolio while expanding its testing services to include heart valve hydrodynamic performance validation, continuous flow particulate counting, and fatigue and interventional device performance testing.

Jabil (St. Petersburg, FL) has unveiled a new Class 100,000 cleanroom for rapid prototyping of disposable medical devices. The company's healthcare & life sciences division built the cleanroom with the intent of consolidating design and prototyping under one roof in order to accelerate time to market. Cleanroom capabilities include ultrasonic welding, UV curing, solvent bonding, overmolding, laminar air flow, bag and blister packaging, and testing.

Plastic injection molders Matrix Tooling and Matrix Plastic Products (Wood Dale, IL) have obtained ISO 13485:2003 certification. The company specializes in the development of intricate, tolerance-critical components for medical applications. Services offered include design consultation, mold design and build, close-tolerance molding, cleanroom processing, and advanced inspection reporting.

The SmartSwitch OLED and LCD switches and displays, manufactured by NKK Switches (Scottsdale, AZ), are now available through all of NKK's authorized distributors in the United States and Canada. These distributors have promised to maintain 'available-to-sell' inventory of these products, along with providing the design engineering resources and capabilities to support the switches, which are suited for use in medical applications.

Serving Louisiana and Mississippi manufacturers, machine- and cutting-tool distributor Dixie Mill (Florence, KY) has launched a new Web site. The site acts as a handy and easy-to-use resource for existing and potential customers to learn about the products supplied as well as appropriate contacts, according to the company.