As part of the Employee Wellbeing Programme, and to coincide with World Mental Health Day last Saturday, Arrotek has organised a Workplace Wellbeing Workshop for employees. The focus of the workshop is to create awareness of how easy it is to fall into anxiety and negative thought patterns, particularly as COVID-19 continues to impact every part of work and life. The workshop also outlines positive coping strategies for building emotional wellbeing. Some of the areas covered include nurturing quality connections, dealing with unpredictability, and growing self-confidence.
Careers’ fairs and events are important dates on the calendar for students, universities, sectors like engineering, and industries like MedTech. Events this year are going to be very different, though, due to the current restrictions, with most careers’ fairs going virtual. Arrotek will be at two of these redesigned virtual events in October, and we can't wait. The first is the Graduate Jobs Fair 2020 at NUI Galway on 12 October. While we can't meet you in person, you can visit us at our virtual stand and chat to members of the Arrotek team. The second is a virtual trade...
The new EU MDR (Medical Device Regulation) changes several aspects of obtaining and then maintaining regulatory approval for medical devices. One of the major changes is the introduction of an identification system, or UDI, for medical devices approved for use in the EU. While the implementation of the new EU MDR has been delayed because of COVID-19, everyone in the industry is impacted by this change in UDI requirements. This includes those with products that have been on the market for years, to companies and start-ups developing new medical devices that have yet to go through the approval process. Introduction...
Some of the Arrotek team headed to Lough Key Forest Park in Boyle, Country Roscommon recently to enjoy zip lining as part of a team-building event. The event was run by Zipit, who have built 1.6km of treetop zip lining activities in this stunning forest. This includes over 909 metres of zip lines and 92 activities between platforms high up in the trees. Team building events are just one of the things that used to be considered normal but are now radically different because of the battle against COVID-19 and the social distancing rules that are in effect. The Zipit team has excellent COVID-19 measures in...
Coil reinforced polymer tubes have enabled the development of a wide range of minimally invasive medical devices, including catheter solutions. The coil reinforcement increases the flexibility of the device inside the body, preventing the tube from kinking or collapsing. These kink-resistant capabilities make it possible for catheters to access difficult to reach parts of the body. As a result, many coil reinforced catheter solutions have been developed and are currently being used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Just because there are effective coil reinforced catheter solutions in use doesn't mean the medical device industry can declare mission accomplished, with...
The COVID-19 emergency has meant adapting to changes in multiple areas of life, and running races are no exception. They have gone virtual, and in one recent event, Arrotek's Jake O'Regan came out on top, helping to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland in the process. The event was the Grant Thornton Virtual GT5K Challenge, organised by Athletics Ireland. It took place on the weekend of 14-16 August. Those taking part had to run their best 5k over the weekend, submitting their time via an app on their phone or their GPS watch to see where they finished...
As with many other companies, the past six months presented new challenges for Arrotek. With the threat of COVID-19 came a responsibility to help protect the health of our staff while also contributing to the national effort to slow the spread of infection. We had to do this while continuing to serve our customers and maintaining our business. Our ability to achieve these goals was in large part down to the backing of our staff. We found new ways to work together, often remotely, balancing the needs of the business with the health and welfare of each member of our...
Investing to deliver for our customers today and into the future has been central to the Arrotek approach from the very beginning. Our latest investment will soon go into full operation – a new cleanroom at our medical device design and manufacturing facility in Sligo. We moved to this new facility in 2019 to provide us with additional production capacity. It is a purpose-built facility that already includes two cleanrooms: A Class 7 (10,000) cleanroom which we use for assembly and packaging activities A Class 8 (100,000) cleanroom that we use for moulding operations This new investment has added a...
Minimally invasive catheter technologies have been transforming patient treatments, care, and outcomes for decades. With new advances come new challenges and a desire to push the technology further. Today, this means developing catheter solutions capable of transporting new treatments and therapies that require a wider diameter to pass through without any increase in the overall width of the device. Other challenges include developing catheters thin enough to safely navigate very small vasculatures to access areas of the body that are delicate and challenging to reach, such as the brain and the lower leg. Therefore, new catheter solutions need to be...
At Arrotek, we constantly seek to improve our capabilities in the design and production of innovative medical device products. Our latest machine investment will enable us to manufacture thin-walled reinforced tubing-based catheters. This means catheters with walls less than 0.1mm thick. The new Rothgreaves 4000 Series Coil Winding Machine is now up and running in our medical device production facility in Sligo. It uses high-speed CNC servo motors and a precise linear actuator to wind coils, adding reinforcement to the catheter products we manufacture. It can manufacture coils in various lengths and pitches. Mark Pugh, Director at Arrotek said: “The...
