The development and manufacturing of printed sensors is our core service. We are an ISO 13485 certified medical device manufacturer. Our process capabilities allow us to manufacture fully-integrated sensors including printed electronics, microfluidics, and biosensing molecules. Our main diagnostics product line is electrochemical sensors, that are used for example, in a glucometer, that measures the amount of sugar from a blood sample. An electrode in the glucometer is activated by enzymes that pick up the amount of glucose in the blood, and transfer it into electrochemical signals. Microfluidics moves the drop of blood from your fingertip to the measurement area on the electrode.
Customized services for various customer needs
We meet our clients at trade fairs, conferences, and through our collaboration partners as well as via Screentec’s web pages. Collaboration begins with a discussion where we identify customers’ needs for the product. We’ll have a technical meeting to get all of the specifications down – every case is customized to fit the client’s needs. It is important for us to know what our client wants, even if they are starting off with just an idea. Our customers have different needs so production volumes can vary from a few devices to thousands.
After we have had a conversation with the client about what they need, and we are confident that we can fulfill their needs, we will make them an offer. The nature of the offer depends on what kind of product we are working with; we might propose an hourly rate or make an offer for the full process, depending on how clear-cut the project is.
If the offer is accepted, we will move on to implementation within a couple of weeks. Depending on the required volumes we can screen print electrodes either as sheets or for larger volumes go directly to roll-to-roll processing. The production process is heavily influenced by the client, their product, and the product trajectory.
Many of our clients want “the whole package”. Continuing with the glucose measurement as an example: the sensor includes a printed electrode and a fluidic component, which directs the blood to one or more measurement areas. For specific target identification, the electrode can be activated with enzymes, antibodies, or DNA probes. We are happy to develop tools and processes for customer-specific needs.
Each product is unique
Our clients often have special requests, which make every project and product unique. We strive to deliver even for the most specific requests – one client needed part of the products to be made in relatively high humidity, and we found our way to get it done. If the production requires a specific process or equipment that we don’t have on hand, we find a way. We help our clients by developing a manufacturing environment that is suitable for their product size and cost requirement. This is in fact one of our greatest strengths: we can fulfill those special, specific needs that almost all of our clients have.
What to expect?
In the rapid diagnostics market, cost per device is a crucial factor. Therefore, manufacturing costs have to be reasonable without compromising quality. Product development applies tools that can be upscaled for high volume. Once the prototyping phase ends, the product is moved into production through the NPI process, where the process steps are optimized for high-volume and quality documentation is prepared.
Guaranteeing quality is crucial to us. Having the right certifications is an important part of the product approvals that should already be taken into consideration during product development. We want to be a reliable partner to our clients and support them in the development of their products. We design your idea with the right methods to ensure quality, scalability, and versatile supply.
