Medical braiding technology: the "intelligent skeleton" of precision instruments

Medical braiding technology is known as the "intelligent skeleton" of high-end interventional medical devices. It constructs complex microstructures with both flexibility and support through precise interbraiding of metal or polymer threads. Shanghai Wewei Technology has broken through the traditional technological boundaries in this field, achieving multi-dimensional braiding capabilities from single round wire to flat wire and composite wire, providing key technical support for global medical innovation.

Technical deconstruction: precise application of three braiding forms

Flat wire braiding

Flat wire braiding achieves maximum material coverage per unit area by rolling metal materials into a strip structure with a specific width to thickness ratio. This process can provide stronger radial support and crush resistance under the same outer diameter conditions, while maintaining excellent bending passability. Wewei Technology adopts patented flat wire pretreatment technology to ensure that the material does not undergo twisting deformation during the braiding process, maintaining a high degree of consistency in the braiding structure. It is particularly suitable for fields such as nerve intervention catheters that have extremely strict requirements for size and performance.

Round thread braiding

As the most mature form of medical braiding, round wire braiding can find the optimal balance between flexibility and torque transmission efficiency by precisely controlling the braiding angle and mesh size. Wewei Technology utilizes a digital braiding control system to achieve real-time monitoring and adjustment of braiding tension, ensuring high consistency in the mechanical properties of each batch of products. This process is widely used in conventional fields such as cardiovascular intervention catheters and drainage tube reinforcement layers.

Composite braiding

Composite braiding technology combines threads of different materials to create special properties that cannot be achieved with a single material. WeWei Technology's breakthroughs in this field include: combining the shape memory characteristics of nickel titanium alloy with the high strength of stainless steel, and developing intelligent braided structures that adapt to the shape of blood vessels; Combining biodegradable polymer materials with developing metal wires to create temporary support devices with temporal functionality.

Technological breakthrough: from basic braiding to functional integration

Wewei Technology's medical braiding has surpassed the traditional concept of reinforcement layers and is developing towards functional integration

• Structural functional integration: By designing special braiding patterns, differentiated mechanical performance distribution can be achieved within the same structure. For example, a large angle sparse weave is used at the distal end of the catheter to achieve excellent flexibility, while a small angle dense weave is used at the proximal end to ensure effective transmission of pushing force.

• Multi process collaborative manufacturing: organically combining braiding structures with laser cutting, polymer injection molding, nano coating and other processes. The latest developed "braided sensing integrated" catheter integrates a micro electrode array in the braided layer, achieving a leap from a simple execution tool to an integrated diagnostic and therapeutic platform for interventional instruments.

• Digital process control: Establish a mathematical model of braiding process parameters and final product performance, and optimize braiding schemes through artificial intelligence algorithms. This digital driven approach shortens the development cycle of new products by 40% and increases material utilization to over 95%.

Clinical application: braiding technology drives therapeutic innovation

• In the field of neural intervention, Wewei Technology's ultra-fine flat wire braiding technology enables the outer diameter of the microcatheter to exceed the limit of 0.017 inches, while maintaining excellent pushing and bending resistance, providing a safer pathway solution for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms.

• In the field of structural heart disease, composite braiding technology is used to develop a new generation of transcatheter valve delivery systems. The unique double-layer braiding structure ensures precise and controllable release process, while providing sufficient radial support to ensure complete valve deployment.

• In the field of tumor intervention, intelligent woven structures with drug release function can directly deliver chemotherapy drugs to the tumor site, achieving local high concentration administration while reducing systemic toxic side effects.

Medical braiding technology is moving from behind the scenes to the forefront, upgrading from auxiliary processes to core technologies. Shanghai Wewei Technology has solved the performance bottleneck of current medical devices and is shaping a new paradigm for future minimally invasive treatments by building comprehensive braiding capabilities for flat, round, and composite wires. This innovative practice that integrates materials science, precision engineering, and clinical needs will continue to drive the development of medical devices towards more minimally invasive, intelligent, and personalized directions, ultimately benefiting more patients from the treatment innovations brought about by technological advancements.