NEWS

To make the most accurate strips possible, it is important to be aware of issues that can arise during a test strip’s lifecycle.

3M has added an extended-wear medical transfer adhesive to its lineup of advanced adhesives for medical devices.

The skin’s ability to act as a barrier against damage and infection depends on a variety of factors, including: structure of skin, genetics and lifestyle, environmental factors, how skin changes over your lifetime, underlying conditions and diseases.

It turns out that adhesives are a critical component to the success of wearables. Adhesives provide solutions to design challenges and help protect users’ skin from harm.

What we see tells us a lot about the world around us, but there’s so much more that your body interprets and turns into your perception of the world around you. The feeling of your feet hitting the pavement can tell you if the ground beneath you is solid or gravel covered. Feeling wind blowing against your face can tell you that it is cold outside.

It’s not uncommon for people to know how many steps they’ve taken today or how well they slept last night. Rapid growth of wearable technology is enabling us to track specific nuances of our lives, like steps and sleep, which can help guide our overall health. Looking to the future, the wearable medical device market will further evolve as patients and consumers continue to “hack their health.”

Whether sticking a device to skin or adhering components together, adhesive plays a pivotal role in successful device design. Selecting the optimal adhesive for your wearable device can be tricky.

Microfluidics is the science of moving microscopic volumes of fluids through tiny channels in a device. Microfluidics technology is used in the construction of blood glucose strips, lab-on-a-disc and lab-on-a-chip applications, and other diagnostic consumables and devices.

While the road to bringing a medical device to market is often bumpy, working with an experienced and knowledgeable partner can help navigate the process and potentially avoid some of the bumps.

CES 2018 showcased many wearable devices developed for health and lifestyle applications. Many of these devices use adhesives to stick to people’s skin, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for a day, or even a week or longer. Also, there are developers out there that want implantable devices that need adhesives. 3M is arguably a leader in the field of adhesive materials.

Adhesives play a critical role in the success of a medical device, whether it’s holding the device together or adhering it to the wearer’s skin. But with so many adhesive products available, it can be a challenge for design engineers to know which one is right for their project. To help bridge this critical gap, 3M developed a “Find My Adhesive” product selector tool to help make medical adhesive selection a simpler process.Adhesives play a critical role in the success of a medical device, whether it’s holding the device together or adhering it to the wearer’s skin. But with so many adhesive products available, it can be a challenge for design engineers to know which one is right for their project. To help bridge this critical gap, 3M developed a “Find My Adhesive” product selector tool to help make medical adhesive selection a simpler process.

When it comes to holding a device together or adhering it to someone's skin, adhesives play a crucial role. And, with so many choices available, medical designers can, well, come unglued a bit, making the best selection difficult amidst time and cost pressures.

3M released a new acrylic-based adhesive, 3M 4076 extended wear medical tape, designed to help medical device manufacturers in long-term wear applications. The adhesive was honored with a Golden Mousetrap award at MD&M West, held in Anaheim from Feb. 6-8.

3M's Find My Adhesive product selector tool makes the medical adhesive selection process easier.

Motherhood. We knew it would rock our world. But no one told us – really told us – it would shake us to our core.

It’s an important job, to say the least. Our skin – the largest and fastest-growing organ in our bodies – is designed to protect us.

Guillermo Urquia has diabetes and needs to monitor his blood sugar levels regularly. He simply pricks his finger, transfers the blood onto a test strip and receives an almost instant result. But how in the world do those tiny little test strips work? Read more in 3M Newsroom article Science Behind the Strip.