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Cardiac Rhythm Management

Fort Wayne Metals has a long tradition of providing application-based wires for the Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) industry. Recent advances in alloy development have led to the production of bioconductor wires that possess an ideal combination of mechanical strength and electrical conductivity. Fort Wayne Metals alloys such as 35N LT® are currently used in a wide variety of pacing and defibrillation systems throughout the CRM market.

At Fort Wayne Metals, our experienced engineering team specializes in collaborating with our clients on solutions and specifications for a wide range of demanding CRM applications. Our production group is uniquely capable of supporting customized R&D quantities for new product development.

Products

Monofilament wire produced by Fort Wayne Metals is spooled and packaged in the method most suitable for the requirements of the application. Any combination of wires may be concentrically stranded, cabled or bunched into a variety of strand and cable configurations. This provides for enhanced fatigue life, strength and flexibility in neurostimulation applications.

Fort Wayne Metals products are on the leading edge in the development of new CRM devices. Applications include:

  • Pacing systems: pacemakers and other devices used to treat patients with bradycardia (slow heart rate).
  • Defibrillation systems: defibrillators and other devices used in the treatment of tachycardia (fast heart rate).

Alloys

A new development at Fort Wayne Metals is dramatically improving the fatigue life of a variety of monofilament and composite wires. We have re-engineered a super alloy, ASTM F562, exclusively for the medical device community. The result is 35N LT®, which offers the strength and corrosion-resistance of its predecessor, MP35N® — with the added advantage of reduced inclusion size, due to enhanced melt practices.

Drawn Filled Tube, DFT®, is our trademarked metal-to-metal composite wire offering a wide variety of material choices, sizes and configurations. The composites typically utilize an outer sheath for strength and/or resiliency, while the core material is designed to provide conductivity, radiopacity or resiliency—or to enhance other imaging modalities.

Example materials include:

35N LT®-DFT®-28% Ag—with a high level of strength and fatigue resistance in the 35N LT sheath and a conductive, high-purity silver core

NiTi-DFT-30% Ta — combining the resilience of Nitinol with a radiopaque and conductive tantalum core

Other combinations may utilize a broad selection of alloys and pure metals, including:

Coatings

FWM has the ability to provide a variety of coated wire and cable configurations comprising a biocompatible sheath, lubricious barrier, or other medical grade material of your choice. It is common for FWM to work with applications that require conduction of an isolated electrical signal. In these instances, selection of the appropriate dielectric material is critical. Our engineering team can assist with the selection and design of any coating configuration.

Insulation is just one of many reasons why coatings are applied for wire based medical applications. Other considerations may include: Chemical isolation, lubricity, or surface preparation. FWM is always open to exploring new coatings for a variety of medical applications. Here is a list of some medical grade coatings that could be used over a broad range of substrates:

  • PTFE
  • ETFE
  • PFA
  • FEP
  • PVDF
  • Parylene
  • Silicone
  • Nylon 11