We are the industry leader in the application of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to implantable medical devices and have helped many companies through the product development and regulatory approval process.

ECHOBIO LLC has over five years of experience with medical devices including self-expanding and balloon expandable stents, stent grafts, heart valves and others, as well as a strong background in implantable materials (metals, polymers, ceramics and biomaterials). This experience provides a solid foundation for using FEA and improves our simulation of devices and surgical procedures.

We participate on international standards committees and pioneer innovative materials research to develop better engineering methods for making safe and reliable implantable medical devices.

Our goal is to put our engineering and medical product expertise to work for customers and partners, helping them to move quickly and confidently to market with safe and effective products.

From concept through design, development and regulatory approval, ECHOBIO LLC can help you create better products.

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ECHOBIO LLC

For more information about ECHOBIO LLC, please contact

Kenneth Perry, Ph.D.
3557 Pleasant Beach Drive
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

voice (206) 780-0750
fax (877) 860-0089

or use our form

Kenneth E. Perry, Ph.D., President
Dr. Perry’s technical specialty is mechanics of materials. His multi-disciplinary approach to innovation and product development combines experiment, computation and rapid prototyping. He has worked with many medical companies to create new technologies and innovative products. Dr. Perry participates on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F04 committee for Medical and Surgical Materials and Devices as well as being a member of the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM), the International Organization of Shape Memory and Superelastic Technologies (SMST), the American Scoiety of Metals (ASM) and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI).

Paul E. Labossiere, Ph.D., Director
Dr. Paul Labossiere’s expertise is advanced finite element analysis. Paul is an active member of the Society for Experimental Mechanics’ technical division for Fracture and Fatigue and has published over 30 papers in Journals and Conference proceedings. Prior to joining Echobio, he was a member of the faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington where he taught courses in Finite Element Analysis and Structural Mechanics and is the recipient of the 2001-2002 Mechanical Engineering Faculty of the Year Award for his commitment and excellence in teaching young engineers.

Barry H. Rabin, Ph.D., Director
Barry is a former national laboratory research scientist-turned entrepreneur. From 1987 to 1997 he was a Principal Investigator at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, becoming an internationally recognized expert in processing-structure-property relationships of advanced materials, including intermetallic compounds, ceramics and graded structures. He has successfully developed and commercialized new products, and has international experience in Japan, Asia and Europe. He received his B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from Michigan Technological Institute in 1982 and his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1986. He has over 80 technical publications, one book, 5 issued patents, and several pending patent applications to his credit.

Radial Force Characterization of Stainless Steel Stents

Radial force is an important aspect in stent performance and design.
Loop and other experimental test results can be calibrated to anticipated in-vivo conditions using detailed FEA.

Phase-shifted Moiré interferometry is an excellent photomechanics technique for producing detailed displacement and strain fields in superelastic materials.

These are fringe patterns of the opening mode displacement fields at

a) partial loading below transformation stress and
b) the corresponding strain field
c) full loading,
d) nearing full unloading showing the recoverable nature of Nitinol.

Approach is ideal for verifying finite element models and for guiding the development of more comprehensive material models.

The unique ability of Nitinol to repeatedly recover large strains (up to 8%) is a direct result of Austenite to Martensite phase transformations occurring at the material level.

The transformation behavior is dependent on the material processing and texture as shown in the two different behaviors seen in material X and Y using Moire Interferometry.

Localized grain transformations act as stress raisers and can significantly influence fatigue life.

Martensite plasticity + Polycrystalline modeling can accurately predict expected variations and increases in amplitude and mean stresses.

Mechanical-thermal-electrical finite element analysis of cardiac muscle in contact with bi-polar RF electrodes.

Trans-renal portion of a AAA device and detailed
view of diamond design element.

Photomechanical measurement of thermal strain in
surface mounted electronic package.
Detail of solderball.

Advanced FEA for Implantable Medical Devices

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a powerful method for predicting the physical response of a structure under specified loading. FEA provides a “virtual” prototype that can be used for checking many aspects of a design’s performance throughout the product development process, saving both time and money.

Modern commercial FEA software packages such as ABAQUS are capable of solving the most sophisticated problems facing the design and development of implantable medical devices. Such FEA problems require the consideration of nonlinear material behavior, complex contact interaction, structural instabilities, multi-axial loading, just to name a few.

At ECHOBIO LLC, we regularly apply FEA to implantable medical devices and surgical instruments. We provide expert consulting services in the follow areas:

• Fatigue simulations and fracture analysis
• Design and product optimization
• Failure analysis and root cause determination
• FDA submissions and regulatory documentation
• Feasibility and due diligence

Nitinol Material and Process Engineering

Nitinol is an intermetallic alloy comprised of approximately equal parts of nickel and titanium. It can be thermomechanically processed to provide either shape memory or superelastic characteristics. Almost all medical applications of Nitinol utilize the superelastic form where Nitinol has large recoverable strains at body temperature.

Nitinol requires exceptional care and attention to detail to achieve these unique properties. It is essential to establish appropriate processing parameters for Nitinol to optimize target performance properties including radial force, fatigue resistance and biocompatibility.

At ECHOBIO LLC, we work with customers to leverage our Nitinol materials expertise in the follow areas:

• Electropolishing and surface finish
• Material selection and thermo-mechanical processing
• Mechanical testing, characterization and analysis
• Rapid prototyping