MPR Plastics molded the high precision occlusion beds for Thermo Fisher Scientific’s peristaltic pumps discussed in the following article.
For the 8-12 million Americans with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), leg amputation always looms as a potential necessity. The late stages of this disease result in about 200,000 leg amputations each year in the United States alone. A new device that features Thermo Fisher technology is being used to help treat some of these patients.
A peristaltic pump system manufactured by the Thermo Fisher Scientific Laboratory Equipment Division (LED) in Barrington, Illinois, is a key part of the device, which allows doctors to enter an artery and cut away plaque that is hindering blood flow, creating clots and hardening the walls of the blood vessel. The device — Pathway Medical’s JetStream™ Pathway PV™ Atherectomy System — is now being used by doctors and hospitals to treat patients with advanced PAD.
The device uses a rotating blade to remove both hard and soft arterial plaque. The long, thin catheter is inserted into the artery. The pump system provided by Thermo Fisher includes both an infusion pump and an aspiration pump. The infusion pump provides irrigation while the blade is cutting the plaque. The aspiration pump is used to remove the debris.
Pathway Medical worked with Carbon Design, an industrial design and engineering company specializing in medical devices, to develop the system. In early 2007, Carbon Design approached Thermo Fisher to develop a peristaltic pump for the device that could meet the flow and pressure requirements — which competitors had not been able to achieve.
By May 2007, prototypes were built and undergoing testing, while the device continued to be refined. New prototypes were delivered in the early fall, final adjustments were made and a multi-year agreement between Thermo Fisher and Pathway was signed by the end of 2007. Pathway Medical has received all FDA clearances, and full manufacturing is now under way.
The final product is assembled by Byers Peak, which mounts the pump module into an intravenous-pole console.
For the LED business, the pump module is a major growth product. And, the technology that allowed the Barrington team to develop the high-pressure peristaltic pump can be applied to other types of pumps for different uses. As it is, the Barrington facility manufactures a wide variety of pumps with incredibly diverse applications — from sedation of large zoo animals to liposuction, from water purification to computer-chip polishing, and much more. But, the Pathway Medical project stands out for much more than its growth potential; it is an example of how Thermo Fisher is helping customers make the world healthier.
“Our people knew what an important product this device would be and really took the project to heart, allowing us to bring it to market quickly,” said Larry Jones, general manager of Thermo Fisher’s Barrington site. “We are a close-knit community here in Barrington, and we are all very proud of this accomplishment.”
The Pathway device was featured recently on MyFoxDetroit.com, an online news program.
