Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 20

Plastics industry awards 2019

industrial Product design of the year

Medical marvel

(From left) James Stanton, commercial manager at Distrupol, Andy Tibbs, CEO of
Boddingtons Plastics, Paul Bowles, operations director, Boddingtons Plastics and
Shaun Williamson

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lready a winner at previous editions
of the Plastics Industry Awards,
Boddingtons Plastics has now taken
home another Industrial Product Design
of the Year trophy.
This time around, the award was given
for development of the Bladderlight product, a new device intended to support the
testing and screening of cancer cells.
Marketed by Aberdeen-based Cytosystems and manufactured by Boddingtons,
which has its operations in Tonbridge,
Kent, Bladderlight combines 38 components. Made from a series of medical-grade polymers, each of these items
was designed for production by the injection moulding specialist.
"The basic inspiration that kept us all
going through development was that this
product will save lives through early detection and diagnosis of bladder cancer," said
Chris Philpott, business development manager. "It will also reduce healthcare costs,
as bladder cancer is the second most expensive cancer to treat worldwide."
The Bladderlight system is intended to
support early detection of cancers. But
before it could be put into use, Boddingtons needed to ensure that the design
was both fit for purpose and could be
produced at a viable cost. Also, the device
had to be portable so it could be used in
a GP surgery.
Philpott explained more about this
process: "The company drew on its full set
of design and production skills in development of the device. CAD work, technical

moulding, bonding, assembly, and deployment of medical needles. This was all factored into production."
As needle handling was required for
assembly, special provisions for health
and safety training had to be made.
Parts of the Bladderlight also require
a vacuum for successful operation, both
for functionality and to limit damage to
the cell samples. This was supported by
workstations with welding, UV curing and
an automated gluing function.
Philpott stated that the design and operation of the gluing station was of particular
importance, as precise dosing was needed
to ensure adhesives did not overflow into
delicate and precise flow path channels.
Unit testing involved specific function
of the needle vacuum, controlling and
measuring to ensure each example was
sealed and fully-functional, enabling the
correct fluid draw.
"Cytosystems currently has the Bladderlight device in a couple of trials across the
NHS," said Philpott. "They have brought in
additional personnel to market the product. We're looking to increased production
across the remainder of the year and into
2020. We're optimistic for the future."
The system will be demonstrated at a
series of trade shows and it is hoped that
this will build interest. Philpott added that
while the trophy will take pride of place
in the reception area at the Boddingtons
headquarters, the award win will be used
to underline the premium nature of the
Bladderlight product.

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Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019

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