Application of Picosecond Laser in Medical Device Industry
Laser is a great invention of the 20th century. It is hailed as "the fastest knife," "the brightest light," and "the most accurate ruler." Speaking of the application of laser in the medical industry, people often think of laser as a means to achieve the functions of removing freckle, tattooing, removing sputum, hair removal and skin rejuvenation in the beauty industry. However, lasers have a huge market for medical devices.
In medical device processing applications, traditional processing methods, such as plasma spraying, sintering, and electrochemical deposition, are not suitable for the processing of biomaterial medical devices because of their high temperature, high acid, and high alkali processing environments.
In comparison, ultrashort-pulse laser micromachining has the advantages of cold processing, low energy consumption, small damage, high accuracy, and strict positioning in 3D space, and has a good application prospect in the processing of medical devices.
The most common medical devices are scalpels, hemostatic forceps, and so on. They save lives under the doctor's wonderful hands and bring new life to countless people.
Have you seen them from close range?
Come closer --
More closer --
You will see a precise, small, two-dimensional code that should not be overlooked. It contains important factory information and is an important means of product traceability.
Marking on stainless steel surgical instruments is a typical application of lasers in the medical device industry. Surgical instruments as a common medical device, marking is an essential part of its production and manufacturing, often need to mark numbers, letters, two-dimensional code, company name and other information. Due to the particularity of its use environment, there are high requirements for marking, and it is required to have various excellent properties such as anti-corrosion, anti-passivation, anti-autoclave and cooking.
Here, we use different lasers (fiber laser, UV nanosecond laser, infrared picosecond laser) to mark the stainless steel passivation layer to verify the corrosion resistance.
Through the test found:
In the marking process of the fiber laser, the heat affected zone is large, and the stainless steel passivation layer has been damaged, resulting in the occurrence of rust in the salt spray test.
Ultraviolet nanosecond laser has the effect of "cold ablation", but its main mechanism for material removal processing is still thermal ablation. Therefore, the mark also causes the stainless steel passivation layer to be destroyed, resulting in rust in the salt spray test.
Infrared picosecond marking Due to its unique cold working mechanism, the stainless steel passivation layer is not damaged during the marking process. From the salt spray test results, the corrosion resistance at the infrared picosecond mark is comparable to that of the stainless steel substrate itself.
In the increasingly important medical security today, the quality of medical devices is undoubtedly the focus of attention of the people.
Infrared picoseconds have been proven to be more suitable for marking medical devices. Infrared picosecond marking has better anti-corrosion performance and higher recognition. It can maintain high contrast at different viewing angles and sharp edges. At the same time, the surgical instruments are made of stainless steel. The complex passivation stage is no longer needed in the marking process, which can reduce the production process and reduce costs.
In the face of the continuous deepening of the smart manufacturing industry, lasers, as an advanced processing method, play a unique advantage in medical device marking applications. Laser-assisted medical device production is safer and more reliable, with no "arms" to strike, and it protects people's lives and health.