A Medical Device Daily

Ionic Fusion (Longmont, Colorado), a developer of ionic plasma deposition (IPD) technology — a vacuum impregnation nanotech process — is introducing its newly formed medical subsidiary, Nexxion, at this week's Medical Design & Manufacturing West conference in Anaheim, California.

Ionic Fusion's announcement is just one of many that will be rolling out from the show, which runs today through Wednesday at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Nexxion said it is selling and licensing IPD applications suited to medical device manufacturing. The new nano-surface technology addresses problems of hardness, corrosion and lubricity, with applications including implants and surgical tools, nanoporous structures for drug-eluting surfaces, and IPD silver oxide, for invasive, infection-prone medical devices.

Joe Ryan, president of Ionic Fusion, said, “We're looking for partners to work with us at Nexxion on, for example, a very promising solution for microbial films that plague medical device manufacturers and endanger the very frail — such as heart catheter patients.“

The proprietary IPD silver oxide application is controllable and ordered, can be impregnated deep into the substrate material, and can be done at room temperature, according to Nexxion.

“Our IPD process can be applied to already-assembled medical devices, with a precision, penetration, and uniformity not possible before,“ said David Tobler, managing director of the new subsidiary. “These characteristics of our IPD technology also hold true for many other problem-solving capabilities that we offer such as drug eluting nanostructures,“ he added.

Nexxion was incorporated to market medical solutions using a proprietary reactive surface enhancement technology. The company's equipment incorporates Ionic Fusion's IPD technology, which impregnates a wide range of metals and ceramics into most substrates.

The MD&M West 2005 Conference features an exposition of contract service providers across the range of materials and processing, plus presentations and programs covering device marketing, Lean and Six Sigma processes, and manufacturing and regulatory updates.

The show also includes five feature pavilions: PrecisionTec, focusing on precision fabrication systems; Medpak, packaging equipment and supplies; Automation Technology, automation systems; Enterprise Technology, supply chain and other management systems; and CADCAM, design software to prototyping technologies.