Engage Partner to Make Cleaning Part of Medical Device Offering

In our previous post we discussed the serious, even catastrophic consequences contamination can cause. Medical device manufacturers –from small machine shops to large corporations – need to establish protocols that enable them to consistently deliver clean components and meet regulatory standards.

According to the Institute of Validation Technology, the FDA, in its Quality System Regulations, states that each manufacturer must “establish and maintain procedures to prevent contamination of product by substances that could be expected to have an adverse effect on product quality.”

The FDA also requires medical device manufacturers to establish “documented cleanliness requirements.”

Beyond Your Core Competencies?

If you are like many precision manufacturers, you have deep expertise in producing machined and/or plastic molded parts to strict tolerances. However, cleaning those parts and documenting your decontamination procedures may be outside your core competencies. For that reason, many device manufacturers turn to specialty partners like PTI Industries for their cleaning and validation. Doing so enables manufacturers to meet industry requirements while eliminating costly equipment purchases, staff training, and numerous certification requirements.

With PTI Industries, you produce your parts, we clean and test* them, and then you take care of packaging and distribution. Together, we get your products to market quicker while allowing you to save time and money.

*Note: PTI does not test for Endotoxin

Specialized Services for the Medical Industry

PTI Industries offers several special cleaning and testing processes for the medical device industry, including:

Precision Cleaning and Cleanliness Testing: Ensures you have a documented and repeatable cleaning process to deliver results that exceed industry standards. Trained experts help to determine which precision cleaning process will produce the best outcomes, based on your components.

Passivation: Stainless steel is naturally corrosion-resistant; however, it becomes contaminated when subsequent forming and machining operations are performed that introduce free iron particles and other surface contaminants. Passivation treats stainless steel with a mild oxidant, such as citric acid solution, to remove surface contamination and enhance the spontaneous formation of a protective passive film on the steel’s surface.

Non-Destructive Testing: With the increasing demand for parts made to stricter tolerances, the use of non-destructive testing has become an integral part of the manufacturing process. Non-destructive testing confirms that parts have been produced without defects and ensures they will perform as expected.

Save time and eliminate potentially damaging results by outsourcing your precision cleaning and testing to PTI Industries. Together, we can determine solutions to help ensure the success of your medical device manufacturing process.

Why Outsourcing Medical Device Cleaning Makes Sense

Part cleanliness is critical in the medical device manufacturing process, helping to ensure product safety, quality, and consistency. Failure to meet required cleanliness standards can have catastrophic results, including part malfunction and the transmission of infection.

However, to achieve cleanliness standards and provide testing validation, medical device makers are burdened with costly equipment purchases, environmental regulations, staff training, and numerous certification requirements.

Not surprisingly, many device producers – from small machine shops to large corporations – outsource their cleaning and validation to specialty partners, thereby eliminating significant capital expenses as well as time-consuming tasks.

Treatment for Stainless Steel Devices

Stainless steel is a popular choice for medical devices, due to its corrosion resistance. However, stainless steel can become contaminated when subsequent forming and machining operations introduce free iron particles and other surface contaminants.

These stainless steel medical devices need to meet all standards for quality and safety. Through passivation, a chemical treatment using a mild oxidant such as citric acid, contamination is removed and the spontaneous formation of a protective passive film on the steel’s surface is achieved.

It is also important to ensure that the subsequent cleaning methods used are effective in the removal of endotoxins and/or bioburden from medical devices.

Partnering with Cleaning Specialists

PTI Industries is a one-stop cleaning specialist that offers you multiple cleaning methods and the accompanying certifications and approvals. Our proven solutions are designed for a wide range of demanding applications. For the medical device industry, we specialize in precision cleaning and cleanliness testing. Expert services include:

  • Measurement of particle weight down to one milligram and particle size down to five microns (.0002”)
  • Cleaning with Brulin 815 and Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA)
  • Availability of clean rooms from Class 1,000 to Class 100,000
  • Removal of endotoxins

Save time and eliminate potentially damaging results by outsourcing your precision cleaning and testing to PTI Industries. Together, we can determine solutions to help ensure the success of your medical device manufacturing process.