Every day, medical device companies face the realities and responsibilities of developing, manufacturing, and commercializing innovative products. CEOs looking to build products that improve patient quality of life are focused like never before on innovation. To be successful, companies continually need to balance cost, value, and time-to market in producing innovative products that are safe, easy-to-use, and at the right price, while complying with extensive governmental regulations and reimbursement. In addition, feedback from patients and healthcare professionals is becoming ever more important in creating new technologies.
Historically, simulation has not played as large a role in Medical Devices development as it has in more traditional engineering industries like Automotive or Aerospace. This is due to the fact that the Life Sciences industry is often driven by innovators – a select few inventors who create products that are then marketed by larger companies. In addition, the simulation of human systems and their interaction is considerably more difficult and less evolved than the simulation of metal components. Human tissue response is complex and not easily simulated with simplified models. Material modeling of medical devices, such as composite implants, for example, is also challenging. Finally, the loads applied to both tissue and devices are often not well understood.
The SIMULIA product suite contains a wide variety of materials, procedures and load types to simulate the human body, medical and surgical equipment, and the manner in which the equipment is used. Abaqus has been used to simulate implanted devices (stents, artificial heart valves, dental implants), orthopedics (artificial knees, hips), brain injury due to head impact damage, tissue modeling, mechanics of feet, and portable devices for blood monitoring, among other applications. Abaqus results have been used in PMA and 510-K submissions required by the US FDA and have similarly been used to obtain CE mark approval in Europe. Our company can help you get started with the simulation of your medical devices and can support the implementation of Abaqus products within your medical product design organization.