HOW SURGI LAB’S MANUFACTURING PROCESS GIVES TODAY’S SURGEONS THE EDGE
Blades and scalpels have been used for surgical procedures for thousands of years. Since the stone age, in fact, when the tools used for incisions were fashioned out of obsidian (volcanic glass). Back then, complications were understandably commonplace. For example, patients with cataracts who trusted someone to enough to operate on them were often blinded through poor workmanship, lack of medical knowledge, and high rates of infection.
Not all surgical knives are manufactured the same way. For example, many ophthalmic blades are stamped, grinded and formed by basic chemical etching. Instead, SURGICUT ophthalmic knives are manufactured through an electronic controlled etching process.
Whereas traditional blades undergo the process of being grinded or stamped to single-bevel shape, we’re using double-bevel technology as default to improve incisional control during cut. Through a very light and controlled electro-polishing, the surface of the blade becomes very smooth but retains its full sharpness. We are certainly not the first company to use etching technology for ophthalmic knives, but we believe we have perfected the methodology through excessive trials and analysis. Through automated process control, every single disposable blade we produce meets the same exacting standard.
Although a few existing knife manufacturers also use etching technology, only precisely implemented algorithms with specially prepared materials achieve the unrivalled sharpness and consistency of SURGICUT knives. Only with this precise and extremely accurate treatment can we make the surface atraumatic by means of a very gentle electropolishing, and thus dispense with subsequent process steps such as coating.
Electropolishing also has a valuable role to play in terms of sanitation. In electropolishing, steel gets an acid bath and then an electrical current is passed through it. According to research, electropolishing has been found to be better at reducing the build-up of bacterial biofilms on steel compared to other processes such as chemical cleansers.¹
From factory to hospital
After passing inspection, the knives are sealed within a sterilisation bag and move on to the sterilisation process. Blades are placed into a state-of-the art sterilising machine that is then filled with ethylene oxide gas, the best element for sterilising metal. The knives are sterilised before shipping to ensure they are ready for surgery as soon as they are removed from their wrapping.
