Galway, Ireland – Smart Reactors is building on the FDA clearance of a medical device incorporating its Camouflage™ coating technology as the Galway company advances a broader portfolio of surface technologies for medical devices.
For Smart Reactors, innovation starts at the interface between a medical device and the biological environment around it.
Measured in nanometres, this interface can influence how a catheter moves through the vasculature, how blood responds to an implanted device, how tissue heals and how microorganisms interact with a medical device surface.
Founded in Galway in 2019, Smart Reactors was established to focus specifically on these challenges. Today, the company is developing technologies across three areas of surface science: hemocompatible, hydrophilic and antimicrobial coatings.
Camouflage™: From Galway Research to FDA Clearance
Camouflage™ is Smart Reactors’ proprietary coating technology for blood-contacting medical devices.
The ultra-thin coating is designed to modify the interaction between blood and an artificial surface without materially changing the underlying device geometry.
An important milestone was achieved with FDA 510(k) clearance of the Camouflage™ Coated Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Tubing Set, indicated for use during cardiopulmonary bypass procedures for up to six hours.
For Smart Reactors, the clearance represents an important step in the progression of technology developed in Galway from laboratory research towards clinical medical-device applications.
The company is now exploring the potential of Camouflage™ across other blood-contacting technologies, with particular interest in vascular and neurovascular devices.
Expanding Surface Technology Development
Building on its experience in blood-contacting surfaces, Smart Reactors has expanded its research and development activities into other areas where surface characteristics can influence medical-device performance.
Its hydrophilic coating programme is focused on catheters and delivery systems, where friction and surface lubricity can influence trackability and navigation through challenging anatomy.
Its antimicrobial coating programme addresses a different challenge: developing medical-device surfaces designed to reduce microbial attachment and biofilm formation.
Rather than developing variations of a single coating, Smart Reactors is approaching each area as a distinct surface technology programme designed around specific medical-device requirements.
Meeting the Demands of More Complex Devices
The continued development of minimally invasive medicine is placing increasingly sophisticated demands on medical-device surfaces.
Neurovascular technologies provide a clear example. A microcatheter may need to navigate highly tortuous anatomy to reach its target. A flow diverter must first be successfully delivered before remaining permanently in contact with circulating blood. Other implanted devices may need to maintain their performance within the body for months or years.
While the mechanical engineering of these devices has advanced significantly, Smart Reactors sees further opportunity to engineer the interaction taking place at the device surface.
This is becoming an increasingly important focus for the company as it works with medical-device developers on new applications.
Building Medical-Device Surface Technology in Galway
Smart Reactors CEO Brian Haddigan said:
“Medical devices have become incredibly sophisticated, but every device ultimately has a surface that has to interact with the body. That interaction is where we believe there is significant scope for innovation.
“Camouflage™ was our starting point. Achieving FDA clearance was an important milestone, but we see it as the beginning rather than the destination.
“We are now applying the knowledge we have built in surface chemistry and medical devices to new challenges — from helping devices move more effectively through the vasculature to controlling the interaction between implanted materials, blood, tissue and microorganisms.
“Our ambition is to build important medical-device surface technologies in Galway and bring them to device developers around the world.”
About Smart Reactors
Founded in Galway, Ireland, in 2019, Smart Reactors develops advanced surface and coating technologies for medical devices.
The company combines expertise in polymer chemistry, biomaterials, medical devices and surface science to develop technologies addressing challenges associated with blood compatibility, device delivery and microbial interaction.
Smart Reactors continues to develop its proprietary technology portfolio and international collaborations, with a growing focus on vascular, neurovascular and catheter-based medical devices.
Smart Reactors
Surface Technology for Medical Devices
Camouflage™ | Hydrophilic | Antimicrobial
