Brains Response to Motion – Case Study
ISSUE: a client of ours needed a fly plate designed with micro components that they could attach a fly to in order to continue their research
DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: Researchers wanted ot study fruit fly brains to get a better understanding of human brains. They needed a device to hold the fly in place in order to do their study.
The fly plates purpose was to measure the insect’s response to motion. By separating the color sensitivity of the flies’ inner and outer receptors they could learn how color and motion signals interact in the brain.
RESULTS: MES designed a plate that allowed the fly to be comfortably secured while allowing the researchers to conduct their study. The results showed that fly brains use inputs from photoreceptors that are sensitive to different colors to improve its motion perception.The neural networks, at a microscopic level, are very similar between fruit flies and humans. These results shed light on how the human brain processes things. Amazing!
Single Dose Powder Inhaler
The DoseOne™ Single Dose Powder Inhaler is human factor-ready and API tested for Actives in several molecule sizes. Patented in several embodiments, our technology enables two different powder drugs to be simultaneously released with the same inhalation. With five total parts, it is currently designed for scalability and economic validation and manufacturing.
Micro Engineering Solutions has the exclusive worldwide rights to sell DoseOne™
(US Patent #7,832,399) and is actively seeking serious and interested partners.
ADVANTAGE: The key advantage of the DoseOne™ is its simplicity. Through the expeditious use of design and micro manufacturing expertise, DoseOne™ is an easy to manufacture and assemble 3-component device. It caters for the increased demand for dry powder inhalers (DPIs) instead of metered dose inhalers (MDIs), the latter regarded as difficult to use, expensive to manufacture, and also attracting more and more regulatory scrutiny due to the use of propellants. There are 3 steps to using it: open the package, actuation (no priming needed) and inhalation.
PERFORMANCE: Independent lab testing with spray dried formulations indicate an effective dose delivery with 50% deep lung penetration.
CHARACTERISTICS:
– the devices aesthetics are clean and can easily be customized to meet your branding requirements
– it contains multiple segregated pathways which keeps the powder hold up to a minimum and makes the device optimization for powder properties easier
– it allows for the simultaneous release of two different drugs
– it gives a clear visible dose indication
– it can be manufactured in a variety of colors to make content identification easy
– the aerosol engine technology is applicable to any number of device embodiments
CONTACT: For more information about this amazing product or to talk about partnering up with us, please call Donna Bibber at 774-230-3459 or email her at DonnaBibber@MicroEngineeringSolutions.com. We look forward to helping you with your project needs.
Micro Parts to Market FASTER – Case Study
ISSUE: Insulin Delivery Client needed 2 silicone parts molded in just 3 days!
DESCRIPTION OF WHAT THEY NEEDED: Thin wall silicone bellows, liquid injection molded, <0.010″ wall thickness
MES SOLUTION: We fabricated 2 injection molds, molded both in LIM, delivered to client in 3 DAYS!
Microfluidics – Case Study
Microfluidic devices are designed to control extremely tiny droplets of fluid such as blood, drugs, or gel-like fluids. Tiny channels, v-grooves, holes, and valves are accurately positioned on tiny chips and surfaces to push, pull, pressurize, or atomize these fluids in order to give the microfluidic device the required functionality. Key to the efficient working of microfluidic devices are sub-micron surface finishes, extremely accurate adhesion and positioning of features in relation to other features, and an understanding of the fluid flow and interactions with external forces — such as static, temperature, pressure, and humidity.
MES creates features in the sub-micron range using several different processes including micro molding, micro machining, lithography, and direct ion etching. Some applications among many others that require this level of precision and positioning include microfluidic chips, insulin and other drug delivery valving, and drug aspirators.
Insulin Delivery – Case Study
The manufacture of insulin devices requires knowledge not just of the likely drug interactions with the body of the device, but also with the other polymers, metals, membranes, and drive mechanisms incorporated in the device allowing it to function repeatedly and with the required longevity.
In most Insulin delivery programs, the annual disposable volumes are extremely high, and overall project costs are driven by a combination of material cost, material scrap, and mold and process cycle times. To ensure long term return on the investment in molding for such devices, knowledge and experience with both micro molding and tooling is critical. MES provides this expertise, and in respect of insulin delivery devices, is also capable of providing the sort of surface finish typically only seen on microfluidic chips that is critical to the successful fluidic design of insulin delivery.
Endoscopes – Case Study
Endoscopes less than 20mm in size typically have between 10 and 20 very tiny, working (sliding, gear-meshing, and tight tolerance stack-up) components. MES manufactures such devices in stages ensuring that the initial designs can be micro-machined until the assembly nuances are worked out. Surface and metrology data (and in-depth tolerance stack-up analysis) are established using assembly solid modeling, which is not only vital in terms of the form, fit, function of the working device, but also provides critical data used in automated assembly fixtures.
Micro machining is a low-capital expense process that MES uses for the pilot production of endoscopes. When the design is “frozen” (i.e. testing has been completed, the part has been validated, assembled, and its functionally tested via accelerated age testing, ship testing, and sterility testing), the next level of production — when volumes increase and capital expenses can support a return on the capital investment for tooling, sintering, fixtures, and a more in-depth validation — may include micro metal injection molding.
Micro thermoplastic molding is also a viable alternative for some stainless endoscope components using strong and friction-friendly materials such as PEEK, ULTEM, and POLYCARBONATE, etc.
Ophthalmic/Intraocular Implants – Case Study
Due to the fact that they are inserted into the extremely sensitive eye area, ophthalmic and intraocular implants present huge challenges in respect of parting lines and surface finish because of the stringent comfort (compliance) required for them to be worn or implanted. As anyone who wears contact lenses knows, it is extremely bothersome to feel even the tiniest dust speck on the surface of a contact lens. For this reason, surface finish and the blending of parting lines, spherical radii, and matching cores and cavities are the key to creating these challenging implants.
Products such as punctum plugs, corrective lenses, glaucoma drains, and ophthalmic surgical tools are all micro devices designed, manufactured, and assembled by MES using cutting-edge techniques to ensure parting line and surface finish requirements are met.
Thin Wall High Aspect Ratio Micro Molding
The CEO of MES, Donna Bibber, has created a powerpoint presentation of various thin-walled, high aspect ratio, micro-molded medical and pharmaceutical device images for you to view. When working with these parts, some of the important things to remember are:
• Ultra precision tooling is required to allow extremely balanced flow, which is critical to thin-walled vessels when being injection molded
• Surface finish is critical to allow the proper surface energy required for filling certain polymers/cavity sizes
• Micro venting is necessary to fill very long, thin, micro-molded components
To see examples of these micro molded parts that Donna has made, click on the link below: