Adapted from a Plastics News article by Roger Renstrom
Dulles Virginia - US-based Carbon Design Group Inc. has been awarded two gold awards for separate medical and scientific designs at the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards, the IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America) announced recently. The winning designs, for Kirkland, Washington-based Pathway Medical Technologies Inc. and Nanopoint Inc. of Honolulu, both feature polyurethane technology.
Carbon's design for Pathway was a "minimally invasive, easy-to-understand PV (pressure-volume) system," with a rotating catheter that can remove atherosclerotic debris and thrombus from a vasculature in patients with peripheral artery disease. The catheter uses polyurethane resins in its tubing sets.
Carbon's second winning design, for biotechnology developer Nanopoint, was a microfluidics controller -- which includes zero-draft PU skins. The device can pump liquids to and from a bio-incubator in minute quantities without trapping air bubbles in the system.
Other winning designs using polyurethane included:
• Ski and snowboarding jacket with layers of microporous and absorbent PUs from Oxylane Group's Wed'ze-brand;
• Protective gloves using PU synthetic leather and PU insulating foam from Swedish companies Ergonomidesign AB of Bromma and Ejendals AB of Leksand;
• A personal, portable aerial work platform as an alternative to a ladder, that uses non-marking PU wheels from JLG Industries Inc. (RD)
Plastics News is a Crain Communications publication
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