Color addition lets tubing “talk”

A manufacturer of medical and surgical products, Applied Medical Technology (AM), Brecksville, Ohio, (appliedmedical.net), chose an RTP 700 Series precolored, low-density polyethylene when recent revisions to U.K. regulations called for specific materials and a purple color coding on feed sets. “Nutrition for critical-care patients is often delivered through an enteral gastronomy device, a tube pathway or feed set that goes directly to the stomach from outside the abdomen,” says AM engineer Brian Baker. “So it's imperative that tubes are clearly marked to differentiate them from IV lines that deliver medication to the bloodstream. Purple indicates the tube is a food port, not a medication port. The color coding helps prevent administering medications into the wrong tubes. And because the system is used for feeding and in close contact with the skin, we needed a material that was flexible, non-brittle, and soft.” The regulations were introduced following several deaths in the U.K. due to the accidental administration of liquid food into an IV medication line.

RTP Co., 580 East Front St, Winona, MN 55987, (800) 433-4787, www.info.hotims.com/18365-250

Tubing for all seasons

Custom, extruded medical tubing from Teel Plastics has been used in IV sets and laboratory pipettes as well as antiseptic ampule and prefilled-syringe packaging. The firm says it was one of the first to manufacture multilayer medical tubing. Teel has also developed multilumen and flex-PVC tubing, and alternatives to flex PVC.

Manufacturing capabilities include ODs from 0.015 to 6.5-in., cut lengths from 0.125 in. and up, and cut-length tolerances of ±0.005 in. on tubing up to 2.000-in. OD. Wall thicknesses can be 0.005 in. and up. Tubing is extruded in a Class 100,000 clean room.

Teel Plastics Inc, 1060 Teel Court, Baraboo, WI 53913, (608) 355-3080, www.info.hotims.com/18365-252

New R&D arm tuned to prototyping

The R&D arm of MicroSpec Corp., EJS Extrusion LLC, is intended to serve medical-device prototype and development needs. Company researchers say it typically makes product to tolerances of ± 0.001 to 0.002 in. and it has produced extrusions with ID tolerances as close as ± 0.0001 in. ODs span 0.004 to 0.625 in. The company is audited yearly and certified to ISO 9001 2000 standards. Lead times are generally 4 to 6 weeks after tooling. All tooling is designed in house.

Microspec Corp, 327 Jaffrey Rd., Peterborough, NH 03458, www.info.hotims.com/18365-251

Think Tygon for good flexibility

Tygon S-95-E (formerly Tygon ECMO) tubing is a medical grade, clear, non-DEHP polymer that provides good flexibility and peristaltic-pump life, according to the manufacturer. The tubing is suited for contact with blood and meets USP Class VI and FDA criteria. In addition, Tygon withstands EtO and gamma sterilization. ISO10933 testing is in progress. Typical applications include extracorporeal membrane oxygenation pumps, kidney-dialysis pumps, and blood and IV solutions.

Raumedic Inc., 1501 Edwards Ferry Rd, Leesburg, VA 20176, (703) 777-5255, www.info.hotims.com/18365-253

Multi-lumen tube in a week and new resins

Zeus Inc. provides prototyping for multi-lumen tubing, from a large selection of resins and with significantly fast turnarounds. Resins now include PTFE, Pebax, PEEK, FEP, PFA, Nylon12, THV, and others. The insulating properties of fluoropolymers also allow including electrical functions with a wide range of profiles and lumen configurations to create high-performance insulated cable systems. Turnaround times are typically one week from drawing to samples.

Zeus Industrial Products Inc., 3737 Industrial Blvd, Orangeburg, SC 29118, (803) 268-9500, www.info.hotims.com/18365-254

Stainless-tube starter kit for hypodermic prototypes

A kit that cost about $250 features a large assortment of 300 series stainless steel hypodermic tubing that designers and laboratory personnel can use for test evaluation and prototyping. The kit is aimed at those who want to experiment with a variety of sizes before placing production orders. It contains 81 pieces of 40-in. long hypodermic tubing in a range of sizes from 6 to 33 gauge, and with a variety of wall thicknesses. An order form is also included for 24-hour delivery of production quantities.

Eagle Stainless, 10 Discovery Way, Franklin, Mass. 02038, (800) 528-8650, www.info.hotims.com/18365-255

Tube for high purity tasks

AdvantaFlex tubing, intended for high purity fluid-transfer tasks, is manufactured from biopharmaceutical-grade thermoplastic elastomer for the medical, biotech, pharmaceutical, and critical-processing industries. The tube is said to be flexible, weldable, and heat sealable which help it perform better than other tubing in high-purity applications and peristaltic pumps. The tubing has low permeability and can withstand repeated compression and release cycles.

In addition, the tubing is smooth, flexible, and resilient. For instance, users can weld it directly to biobags and other components for secure connections. The tube is heat sealable for sampling applications. AdvantaFlex complies with USP, ISO, EP, and FDA standards and is free of animal-derived ingredients. Sizes range from 1/8 through ¾-in. ID. The tubing is lot traceable, has documented quality control, and comes with validation test portfolios.

AdvantaPure, 145 James Way, Southampton, PA 18966, (888) 755-4370, www.info.hotims.com/18365-256