Case Study 1: Medical Injection Needles

Medical syringes are used for injecting fluids into the human body and for collecting and transfusing blood and bodily fluids.

Purpose and Challenges

• The length, outer diameter, needle tip angle, etc. are stipulated in the standard, and highly reliable measurement is required.
• Since the needle is pierced directly into the human body, the surface condition of the needle and the minimum load when pulling out are specified for each outer diameter so that the needle does not come off during injection. Since the area to measure is very small, it may be extremely difficult if not impossible to take the measurement using a conventional contact roughness meter.

Our Solutions

• The STM7 measuring microscope can measure the dimensions specified for the injection needle and inspect the appearance with a single unit.

  

  Appplication Note: Inspecting Medical Hypodermic Needles Using a Measuring Microscope

• Our LEXT™ OLS5100 3D laser scanning microscope can be used to position the needle under magnified observation and perform noncontact roughness measurements with higher accuracy than contact-type roughness measuring devices.

  

  Application Note: Measuring the Surface Roughness of Medical Needles Using a Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope

Case Study 2: Catheters and Stents

A catheter is a soft tube used for medical purposes. It is inserted into a part of the body, such as the digestive tract, ureter, or blood vessels, and is used for draining bodily fluids and injecting drug solutions.

Purpose and Challenges

• Standards require measurement of the length, outer diameter, and inner diameter of catheters and guide wires, as well as the wall thickness uniformity.
• The surface roughness of the inner wall of the tube is also controlled to avoid accumulation of deposits and to ensure the tube‘s transparency.

Our Solutions

The OLS5100 3D laser measurement microscope enables you to observe and measure the dimensions of a tube with a fine curved surface as well as the roughness of the tube’s surface and inner wall. All measurements are performed without contact, so even tubing with special coatings and are easily scratched will not be damaged.

Application Notes

Measuring the Roughness of the Inner Wall of Medical Tubing

Case Study 3: Implants

Implants are medical devices manufactured to replace lost biological structures, support damaged biological structures, or enhance existing biological structures.

Purpose and Challenges

• Dental implants have an appropriate roughness by some processing on the surface, which facilitates adhesion to the living body and is more firmly fixed.
• Requirements for breast implant safety, intended performance, materials, evaluation, etc. are specified in ISO 14607: 2018.
• In artificial joints, surface roughness measurement is used to evaluate the surface texture of the worn part of the sliding surface.

Our Solutions

Our 3D laser scanning microscope measures the fine roughness of the implant surface using noncontact measurement. Accurate three-dimensional surface roughness data is acquired using a small radius laser beam to scan the implant.

Application Notes

Using the Olympus OLS5000 Laser Confocal Microscope to Measure Surface Roughness on the Metal Part of Dental Implants

Case Study 4: Micro Flow Path

A microchannel chip is a device that utilizes the characteristics of hydrodynamics with microscale channels. It is used for DNA inspection, etc.

Purpose and Challenges

Since the width and height of a microchannel can be submicron, it is necessary to control the shape of the channel and the roughness inside the channel using powerful microscopes

Our Solutions

Using the LEXT™ OLS5100 3D measurement laser scanning microscope, you can measure the shape and roughness of microchannels.

• High-precision measurement with LEXT-dedicated objective lenses
• 4K scan technology enables steep shape measurement

Case Study 5: Evaluating Pore Size of Artificial Bone Replacement Material

Artificial bone replacement materials are surgically implanted into the body to fill in defects or gaps and stabilize the tissue to compensate for bone loss. The material used is a porous ceramic such as calcium phosphate.

Purpose and Challenges

• Controlling the pore size and its ratio is important because the dispersion of pore size and strength greatly influence the performance of the bone replacement material.
• In the past, observation of pores was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on small pieces of resin-embedded filler material. However, the sample preparation involved (e.g., sample fragmentation, resin embedding, and sputtering) added two to three days to the inspection time.

Our Solutions

The LEXT™ OLS5100 3D laser scanning microscope provides a faster method to evaluate pore size and expands the range of observation and measurement.

• Place the sample on the stage to immediately begin a nondestructive observation. No sample preparation is required, significantly shortening the inspection time.
• Can acquire height data in a plane for a wide range of measurements and observations, such as pore diameter and area ratio by particle analysis, pore depth measurement by profiles, and 3D display.

Application Notes

Evaluating Pore Size of Artificial Bone Replacement Material Using a 3D Laser Scanning Microscope