Medical Device Manufacturing And Precision Automation

The continued advancements in the medical device manufacturing and automation industry is the one bright spot in an otherwise bleak rising healthcare landscape.  Whether it’s pharmaceutical dispensing, stent manufacturing, medical device or equipment manufacturing, the motion industry continues to help reduce costs.

A great example of this can be seen in the stent marketplace.  The rise in cardiovascular disease and sedentary lifestyles has been instrumental in the massive increase in stent market share for the medical device industry the past few years.  Across the globe, changes in dietary patterns and less active lifestyles has created a need for medical device manufacturers to create more affordable and sustainable means of producing stents.

One issue that global populations have been faced with was the majority of the cost of stent procedures was out of pocket so to create more availability and reduced costs in this $10.6 Billion market place is a common goal of some of the market leaders such as Abbott, Boston Scientific and Medtronic.   This can only be accomplished through more affordable means of producing and manufacturing stents.  This is where the advances in the automation industry play a vital role.  Just in the USA alone 1.8 million stents are implanted each year.  The actual cost of the stent has been reduced by these manufacturers by 30-50% over the last 4 years!

Precision automation and laser advancements have allowed this continuation of reduced stent costs across the industry.  The first stent application back in 1963 took several days to make whereas now a medical stent can be made in seconds.  Because of the precise nature of medical manufacturing, there has been a boom in the motion stage and robotics industry to supply the equipment necessary for these applications.  The motion industry generally saw its swings due to semiconductor ups and downs.  This will no longer be the case as the medical manufacturing industry continues to advance at 7-11% annually.

Reliant Systems is proud to partner with many of the medical manufacturing industries top contract manufacturers.  Our partners rely on us for short lead times, competitive pricing and the industries best precision motion stages.