Customization Case Study: One-Way Stopcock on a Hemostasis Valve Adapter Assembly

The Merit Medical OEM Hemostasis Valve Adapter assembly comes standard with a three-way stopcock, as offered on our website and in our catalog. Recently, a customer requested that we replace the three-way stopcock with a one-way barbed stopcock as a custom order. We were able to successfully complete this custom project and provide this customer with options for colors for the stopcock handle and cap. Merit Medical OEM can customize most products featured on our website and in our catalog, saving customers the time and money involved in starting a new project from the ground with a contract manufacturer. In addition, products sold by Merit OEM are already proven in the field through direct sales by Merit Medical Systems. To learn about customization options, please contact us.

Enhancement to the Merit Advance Needle

needlechart

Merit Medical is pleased to announce an improvement to our Advance® Needles, used to facilitate entry into tissue and vessel walls during interventional procedures. Advance Needle hubs have always featured a small bump to indicate the position of the needle bevel. Beginning in June 2014, the ergonomically designed hub on each Merit Advance Needle will now contain a printed arrow to visually indicate the position of the bevel. The addition of the arrow now gives doctors both a visual and tactile indicator to use to determine the position of the bevel.

New Coating Services and Components

Merit Medical OEM is very excited to introduce coated wire and tube components and coating services to our product offering. Earlier this year we announced that the Merit Medical Coatings division of Merit Medical Systems, Inc., is now a part of Merit OEM. And now, the PTFE and hydrophilic coating services for medical wires and coated components including coated guide wires, mandrels/stylets, and coated needles will be offered through the Merit OEM sales and customer service team. The combination of the two divisions also means an expansion of our sales and service support throughout the globe, with sales offices throughout the US, Europe, China and Japan. The Merit Medical coating process was developed nearly two decades ago and ensures coating consistency and tight tolerances on our coated guidewire components. PFOA-free PTFE and hydrophilic coatings are applied prior to cutting and further processing, to bulk lengths of wire. This process results in consistent coatings along the full length and from one discreet length to the next. In addition, we first clean the base material and then apply coatings in thin layers, allowing for superior adhesion. We use a proprietary curing process called the Optimized Heat Treatment (OHT) process that improves the adhesion of the topcoat and makes it more consistent and more resistant to mechanically challenging processing such as wire coiling and grinding. And finally, we perform adhesion tests on each spool of wire before we further process or send to the customer for further processing. With the Merit Medical coating process, base materials are fully covered with coating and thereafter formed into a medical device (component). For more information about the Merit OEM coating process and coated components visit the Coatings section of our website