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8th July 1999

New collaboration seeks micro-engineered solutions for big design problems

Cambridge Consultants Ltd. and the Institute of Microtechnology Mainz will create new healthcare products through the exploitation of microengineering

Cambridge Consultants Ltd. (CCL®) and the Institute of Microtechnology Mainz GmbH (IMM) are working together to exploit micro-medical technology and develop the medical devices that will shape the future of healthcare worldwide.

The first product target is an ambulatory infusion pump, a device that delivers precisely controlled doses of drugs to the patient and can be carried or worn by the user. The first demonstrator, scheduled for completion in the autumn, will be smaller and lighter than those already on the market due to the integration of IMM's microengineered pumps and CCL's innovative drug delivery technologies.

Barriers such as regulatory issues, manufacturing problems and cost have, until now, prevented the exploitation of microtechnology in healthcare applications. Designing the right interface for a small device is also a problem. The partnership will address these obstacles and ensure that its designs are manufacturable at the right price for current, and future, markets. Development work, which will be shared between the companies' laboratories in Cambridge and Mainz, will enable the manufacture of a wide range of devices that will be safer, more portable, cheaper and flexible. This will be achieved through the integration of the microengineering expertise of the IMM and CCL's product design and development skills.

Future work will combine micro-mechanical components with standard engineering to achieve higher efficiency and effectiveness in healthcare applications, while fully satisfying the requirements of each customer.

Potential applications include the acceleration of minimal invasive surgery, drug delivery systems, artificial organs, implants with enhanced biocompatibility and multi-parameter diagnostic systems.

Of the partnership, Dr. Brian Moon, CCL Director and leader of its healthcare industry practice said: "In working together, our two companies will be a formidable design force. CCL, with its expertise in product development, market knowledge and understanding of the regulatory issues that underpin all medical device designs, is a perfect partner for the IMM. Together we'll bring down many barriers that stand in the way of medical device development and deliver real benefits to those using the products. There are people who would live longer but for lack of the products that we might create".

Professor Wolfgang Ehrfeld, IMM Director and pioneer of microfabrication emphasises that the co-operation between IMM and CCL is the product of the increasingly complex challenges that face the world: "There are many problems in the world to which microengineered solutions can be applied. However, customers demand comprehensive, technically superlative solutions. We at IMM represent the leading edge of modern microtechnology. CCL is in the corresponding position for medical product design and marketing. Only alliances of the best can win in the race of global competition and we are such an alliance".

Although recognised as having great potential in the medical field since the late 50s, microtechnology has, so far, failed to make a significant impact on devices used for diagnosis and therapy. Through their collaboration, CCL and IMM will make significant progress toward microtechnology achieving its potential in the healthcare industry. Microtechnology will, through the work with CCL's healthcare practice, add flexibility to current practices while becoming an enabling technology leading, not just to new therapies and laboratory techniques, but to new models for delivering practical healthcare.

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