Orion VisiMark®

Designers of medical devices can now have both a low friction PTFE coating and permanent, contrasting, highly visible marks within a medical grade PTFE coating. Until recently, contrasting marks meant removing the PTFE coating. These marks were created using laser ablation, acid or mechanical grinding. This exposed the stainless steel substrate but do not offer a true high contrast, especially where bright light created reflections from the stainless substrate. In addition, the missing coating created a depression or "notch" to the surface of the coating, increasing the surface friction. Paint-type marks applied to PTFE coatings create a "bump”, also changing the surface friction and potentially can be removed or dislodged easily during a procedure.