Medical suture device calibration system

Case study

VersaTest medical suture crimp calibration horizontally mounted

Horizontally-mounted MultiTest with feet kit parts

Solution

Motor-driven test stand
Custom grips for suture needle location and loop gripping
Horizontal-mounting accessories

Benefits

Bespoke solution to meet the exact QC need
Repeatable test procedure
Simple to use and run the test with immediate tensile force indication

Requirement

A number of devices which 'crimp' a curved needle to a fine medical thread needed to be tested. The crimp force was applied horizontally pulling a lever on the device.

A test system was required to verify that the force applied to the device was within the specified tolerance, and was repeatable over a number of tests.

Solution

The VersaTest motorised stand was adapted for horizontal operation by using a simple feet kit.

The medical suture device was mounted on an 'L' bracket, with a dowel pin to secure it in position. An 'eye-loop' was connected to the force gauge on a clevis-pin and the connected to the lever device.

The lever was then pulled at a test speed of 300 mm/min with peak tension force being recorded on the AFG. The first data acquisition speed of 1200 Hz for the AFG, produced results more repeatable than those produced by the previous test system.