Surgical Electric Blade Coated with Quasicrystalline Twin Films

Medical surgery is performed in all countries of the world ranging from very simple procedures involving flesh and bones in hands to very complex procedures on the brain. It is desirable to use surgical tools that are of high quality that do not cause unnecessary damage to the organ or tissue. Electric surgical blades coated with a thin film of quasicrystalline material, such as AlCuFe, offer superior mechanical and electrical performance when compared to conventional blades. The high hardness and low friction characteristics of quasicrystalline materials are well suited for coatings of surgical blades and knives, making them non-stick when in use, and extending their lifetime. This technology describes a coating process of the quasicrystalline films (less than about 3000 A� thick) on surgical knives and blades by radio-frequency sputtering and subsequent anneal.

Benefits
This invention could be used to produce high quality surgical knives and blades that would have smooth performance with less tear on flesh.

Stage of Development
A patent (US 6,294,030) and a continuation in part (US 6,712,915 B2) have been issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This technology is available for developmental research support/licensing under either exclusive or non-exclusive terms.

Additional Info
*"Quasicrystal Thin Films for Biomedical Applications", O. Symko, W. Park and D. Kieda, in Proc. of the 11th Intern. Conf. On Surface Modification Technologies, ed. T.S. Sudarshan, M. Jeandin, and K. Khor (1998), p. 1051.
*http://www.physics.utah.edu/people/faculty.html

Inventor(s): David Kieda, Thierry Klein, Orest Symko

Type of Offer: Licensing



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