A pilot line for the future
In the InForMed project, a pilot line infrastructure has been established, suitable for the manufacturing of these medical devices, so that they can be demonstrated and validated by the market until they reach volumes that justify a transfer to high-volume foundries.
Uniquely one of the largest manufacturers of medical instruments, Philips Electronics, hosts the pilot line. The pilot line is part of Philips Innovation Services and is shared with third party users. The pilot line consists of three facilities:
- A 2650 m2 microfabrication cleanroom;
- An extensive micro-assembly facility;
- A pilot catheter fabrication line.
These three components together offer a complete fabrication chain from silicon wafer to system.
Typically, microfabricated medical devices consist of a number different components, all made in specialized technologies, like: CMOS, sensor technologies and micro-fluidics. These different components are combined using advanced assembly techniques to form truly heterogeneous systems. The InForMed project has brought together industrial and academic experts so that the extensive capabilities available in Europe needed to realize these systems are utilized and aligned in the most efficient way.
Bridging valley of death
The pilot line is available for other industrial users who require a microfabrication facility in an industrial setting for the pilot fabrication of their medical devices. This service allows them to develop, demonstrate and validate their products in the market, thereby bridging “the valley of death” between concept creation and high volume manufacturing. The demonstrator products that have been developed in the context of this project, have illustrated that the pilot line is also explicitly open for SME’s.
The InForMed pilot line allows for validation of micro-fabricated medical devices in the market and for further tuning until they can be transferred to volume foundries and contract manufacturers. It is a crucial instrument in safeguarding Europe’s premier league position in medical equipment and tools. It allows for opening of new markets with the overarching goal to create growth in Europe’s smart health industry in its broadest sense, and for helping to reduce the cost of healthcare and keeping the aging society manageable.
Pilot line validation
The pilot line has been tested and its value has been proven with the realization of several demonstrator products. Both with the pilot line itself and with the demonstrator products, Europe’s innovative capacity in the medical markets that are related to the Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) industry has been increased considerably.
The products of the pilot line that have been realized during the runtime of the project but also future products, of which realization will be enabled by the pilot line, will help fighting the increasing healthcare cost and managing the aging European population. From a technological perspective, it will also will help to develop the MEMS industry to broaden its scope in completely new markets and applications.
This InForMed integrated pilot line– incorporating the complete innovation chain for the development and manufacturing of micro fabricated medical devices, to our knowledge is the first one of this kind in the industry.
