Current Pulse

50 Years of Medical Excellence
Phillips & Johnston Inc. is celebrating 50 years of medical industry excellence. As a manufacturer of specialty tubular products, and a subsidiary of Webco Industries Inc., Phillips & Johnston has grown from two employees to 84 dedicated professionals with several strategic facilities deploying the most advanced technology. Throughout the past 50 years, the company has evolved from a manufacturing sales organization to a precision fabricator of tubular metals for a variety of markets worldwide. From the early days of the organization, the company’s objectives have emphasized continuous improvement and being the valued business partner of choice. By providing quality manufacturing, fabricating, and inventory solutions for stainless, specialty alloys, carbon steel, aluminum, and red metals, Phillips & Johnston matches its customer’s requirements to the most cost-effective fabricating technology available. www.pjtube.com

Second Gen-Navigator Delivery System Receives 510(k) Clearance
Carticept Medical Inc. received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its enhanced Navigator Delivery System (DS), the first and only FDA-cleared, computer-controlled injection system intended to increase the efficiency, comfort, safety, and accuracy of musculoskeletal injections. The clearance is Carticept’s fifth that has been granted through the new Draft FDA Regulatory Guidance for 510(k) infusion pump submissions.

Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States with an estimated 50 million adults having doctor-diagnosed arthritis. Local injections of corticosteroids and anesthetics are often relied on as an early, effective intervention for pain relief, with an estimated 30 million orthopedic injections given in the United States alone each year.

Standard intra-articular injections often consist of a corticosteroid and two anesthetics, requiring manual access into several drug vials to prepare a dose for each patient. The Navigator DS automatically prepares these injections directly from the manufacturers’ drug vials, saving significant labor for a busy physician practice while eliminating needle exposure. www.carticept.com

Second Round of Funding Closes
Officials from dBMEDx Inc., a privately held automated wireless medical device company, announce the closing of a fully subscribed capital raise of $1.1 million through a sale of common stock, the company’s second successful capital raise.

The proceeds will be used to complete development of the company’s first product, the Benchmark Bladder System, a fully automated and non-invasive bladder volume measurement device utilizing the company’s hand-held scanning technology. Bladder volume measurement is a well-established metric used in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of medical conditions, including urinary tract infections (UTI), the second most common type of infection in the body. UTI’s account for about 8.1 million visits to health-care providers each year and more than $1.6 billion in annual medical costs.

The dBMEDx product offers a number of advantages over competing devices, including a lower total cost of ownership and improved ease of use.

“We are very pleased with the level of interest in dBMEDx as evidenced by the rapid closure of our second round of funding,” states David Shine, CEO of dBMEDx. “The company is now well-positioned to bring the first device in our pipeline through FDA clearance and move toward initial revenue.”

The annual market for automated bladder measurement devices is currently estimated at $150 million with a history of steady growth. www.dBMEDx.com

Get a Grip on Precision
The new “Get a Grip on Precision” catalog from Lexair is a comprehensive guide to a unique line of productivity-boosting workholding devices from OML. The catalog includes the Genius precision 5-axis vise with 9,000 lbf clamp force at the top of the jaws, the MC modular clamping system with patented self-locking CLAK parallels for tombstones and trunnions, and the Automatic Positioning System that reduces setup time by up to 90%.

OML has evolved its workholding devices to meet today’s competitive standards for 5-axis accuracy, speed, and ease of use, and the company’s workholding systems are some of the most repeatable and rigid available.

Lexair is the exclusive importer and master distributor in the U.S. and Canada for OML. www.lexairinc.com

Acquisition, Launch of fiXate
Boston Scientific Corp. acquired the fiXate Tissue Band and is launching the product in the United States. The fiXate Tissue Band is a novel suturing device that is designed to enable quick and simple placement of a suture to help secure a spinal cord stimulator (SCS) lead or pain pump catheter. The product was purchased from Anulex Technologies Inc.

Designed to manage chronic pain, spinal cord stimulators deliver electrical pulses from an implantable pulse generator to leads with stimulating contacts in order to mask pain signals traveling to the brain. More than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, according to the American Pain Foundation. Living in constant pain for an extended period can have a devastating impact on quality of life.

Bench test data show that, on average, the fiXate Tissue Band can place a suture in under one minute. The semi-automated design provides ease of use for physicians and offers a minimally invasive inline design.

“We are pleased to add the fiXate device to our expanding Neuromodulation portfolio,” states Maulik Nanavaty, president, Neuromodulation, Boston Scientific. “We believe the fiXate device is a significant advance for lead securement, and this acquisition demonstrates our commitment to bringing to the market innovations that are designed to improve patient outcomes.”

Indication for Use: The fiXate Tissue Band is intended to be an accessory to the leads/catheter component of Spinal Cord Stimulator/Pain Pump systems functioning to secure the lead to the fascia or inter-spinous/supra-spinous ligament. www.bostonscientific.com

New 2013 Master Product Catalog
The 2013 edition of Jergens’ Master Product catalog is 516 pages of in-depth product descriptions, design features and benefits, performance details, application and operating information, dimensional drawings, and detailed sizing information for all Jergens products from the company’s three distinct business units. Areas included are:

• Workholding solutions;
• Specialty fasteners; and
• Lifting solutions.

To request a copy of the new 2013 edition of Jergens Master Product Catalog contact Jergens Inc. at 877.486.1454, send an email to info@jergensinc.com, or visit online at www.jergensinc.com.

Parts List Available for Download
From Eriez’ 5-Star Service web page, more than 75 parts lists are available for immediate PDF download, including Eriez’ core products, such as vibratory equipment, coolant cleaners, metal detectors, and lifting magnets.

Parts listed are available for specific models in each equipment category, many with detailed schematic of the equipment for easier sourcing and identification. Customers can request a quote for any Eriez part via email or phone.

“The mission of Eriez 5-Star Service is to keep customers’ equipment running at peak performance and address any problems quickly to minimize downtime,” says Dave Hansen, manager, service and repair. “By offering downloadable parts lists, we can expedite a solution for any parts issues that may arise, helping to keep profits and production up.” www.eriez.com