Furukawa Electric Increases Catheter Treatment Precision and Develops New Polyimide Tubes
- VASCULEX Series to Begin Full Scale Mass Production -
Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. has developed and will begin selling new polyimide tubes ("VASCULEX Series") for catheters used in medical equipment. VASCULEX Series products are thin but highly rigid and safe, and will help to further improve catheter treatment precision.
Background
Catheters are hollow, narrow tubes with diameters of around 2 mm. They are inserted into blood vessels and the like to test and treat the heart and blood vessels. In addition to being used to inject medicine and medical dyes, catheters have recently been developing as advanced endovascular treatment tools for such applications as heart disease treatment and tumor excision. Catheter treatment is less invasive compared with the traditional method of making an incision in the patient's abdomen, and is expected to become even more popular in the future.
Content
Furukawa Electric has developed the new VASCULEX Series for catheters used in medical equipment, and will begin full scale mass production in April of this year.
VASCULEX Series products are thin but highly rigid and safe. Their design is suited for a variety of needs from the design stages of medical equipment, and can help to increase test/treatment precision, shorten development time, and reduce total costs.
Product lineup
Type-S: Polyimide monolayer tube (USP Class 6 certified)
Type-Ex: Polyimide inner layer, polyamide outer layer two-layer structure
Type-B: Polyimide inner layer, metal blade middle layer, polyamide outer layer three-layer structure
Sales goal
2020 FY net sales: 1 billion yen/year
About Furukawa Electric Group
Furukawa Electric (TSE; 5801, ISIN; JP3827200001) Group started business in 1884, when its copper-smelting facility and wire manufacturing factory was established. Since then Furukawa Electric has become pioneers in the latest technologies by addressing diverse technological issues. Furukawa Electric has released products in a number of areas, including telecommunications, electronics, automobiles, and construction, with the three types of materials it works with at their core, namely, optics, plastics, and metals. Many of these products have attained the top global market share, and all of its products have contributed to society in numerous business areas. Furukawa Electric reported consolidated revenues of JPY 931.8 billion (approximately USD 9.3B) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014.