At Medex, manufacturing doesn’t just begin with preparing
technical drawings of parts; it begins at finding out the needs of
prosthetic clinics and the myriad of demands of the lower-limb amputees
that they serve. A simple example is Mr. Celebi’s US Patent
#6,402,790, which is the first of the sector’s angularly adjustable
foot. As a prosthetist, Mr. Celebi fitted female patients wanting to
wear both athletic and high-heeled shoes, and the practice at the time
was to prepare individual feet for each different heel height and to
teach the patient how to detach and reattach the feet herself. The
Medex manufacturing process begins with identifying needs like these,
and designing the most appropriate solutions for them.
Sometimes, however, the need is not a new design, but a
lighter, stronger, sleeker design, or one of higher quality and better
value than the standard parts that have been used in the market for
decades. Medex carefully selects its certified raw materials for this
reason. The part materials are always: stainless steel, aluminum or titanium,
alloys specifically selected for their high-performance material
characteristics. Medex uses both vertical and horizontal CNC machines
to shape its parts using premium cutting tools and fluids. After the
CNC machining process for a part is completed, each part is
individually deburred by hand, washed, and laser-printed.
The entire Medex manufacturing
process conforms to the CE Medical Devices Directives for production
of external limb prosthesis and accessories. Any Medex part can be
traced from its initial conception to its final user and all quality
control procedures throughout the process are well-documented. That is
why each part has two numbers, a lot number and a BD code. The BD
number, which is laser-marked on the part, is the birthday of the part
and identifies its batch date. On the product label, affixed to the
product bag or box, is the lot number. It is assigned to different parts
from different batches and identifies when a group of products have
left the Medex manufacturing site. None of these quality control
procedures are required in the sector, but are evidence of the Medex
dedication to providing the best possible solutions in the field of
lower limb prosthetics.
