Medical technology saves lives, improves quality of life, and provides people with information about their state of health. More than 500,000 medical technologies are currently in use, giving rise to an incredible variety of related instruments and devices. But however diverse they may be, they must all meet high standards of reliability during use, cleaning, and disinfection. This makes steel the material of choice for many applications. So-called surgical steel is generally martensitic, meaning it has a structure that lends it particular hardness and strength. It is a material that medical personnel can always depend on.
Hygiene is the overriding priority for medical instruments. When cleaned for reuse, they must withstand high temperatures and aggressive substances. Resistant to corrosion, heat and acids, voestalpine surgical steels satisfy all applicable medical standards.
David F., Product Manager, voestalpine BÖHLER Edelstahl GmbH
Gernot R., Business Unit Manager, voestalpine BÖHLER Edelstahl GmbH
Chromium steels from voestalpine BÖHLER Edelstahl GmbH are distinguished by properties such as outstanding surface strength.
In addition to steel, we are seeing increasing demand for cobalt- and nickel-based materials for special applications, emphasizes David F.
A particular challenge for manufacturers lies in creating the surfaces of surgical instruments. In addition to high-gloss surfaces, silver-coated ophthalmic instruments, and gold-plated parts with carbide inserts, there are even black instruments, such as those produced by voestalpine eifeler Coating GmbH.
As with all coatings from voestalpine eifeler Coating that are intended for medical applications, biocompatibility is naturally guaranteed. The advantages of these paper-thin coatings are also exploited in tooth implants and in the world’s smallest heart pump.
In matt black: Bone punch with coating from voestalpine eifeler Coating.
Product Manager Albert J., voestalpine eifeler Coating GmbH
Treatment cannot take place until a diagnosis has been made. When it comes to investigating tissues, slices between 0.1 and 100 µm in thickness are needed for examination under a microscope. Medical laboratories use cutting tools called microtomes to prepare the thinnest specimens. These require very special blades manufactured by voestalpine Precision Strip AB in Munkfors, Sweden.
In addition to this very special product, hundreds of tons of cold-rolled steel strip leave the Swedish plant every year as a prematerial for scalpel blades and oscillating bone saws.
Saw blades for oscillating bone saws.
Ian J., Managing Director voestalpine Precision Strip AB
Die voestalpine ist ein weltweit führender Stahl- und Technologiekonzern mit kombinierter Werkstoff- und Verarbeitungskompetenz. Die global tätige Unternehmensgruppe verfügt über rund 500 Konzerngesellschaften und -standorte in mehr als 50 Ländern auf allen fünf Kontinenten. Sie notiert seit 1995 an der Wiener Börse. Mit ihren Premium-Produkt- und Systemlösungen zählt sie zu den führenden Partnern der Automobil- und Hausgeräteindustrie sowie der Luftfahrt- und Öl- & Gasindustrie und ist darüber hinaus Weltmarktführer bei Bahninfrastruktursystemen, bei Werkzeugstahl und Spezialprofilen. Die voestalpine bekennt sich zu den globalen Klimazielen und verfolgt mit greentec steel einen klaren Plan zur Dekarbonisierung der Stahlproduktion.
