BDC Laboratories | Top Simulation Solution Company 2020

MedTech Outlook Magazine

BDC Laboratories
Gateway to Positive Clinical Outcomes

Craig Weinberg Ph.D., CEO, BDC Laboratories Craig Weinberg Ph.D., CEO
Advances in simulation have opened doors for development and testing of innovative medical devices. Medical device companies recognize the need to equip and train their surgeons with more accurate turnkey products to realize the benefit of the full spectrum of therapy in both healthy and diseased conditions and treatments. Colorado-based Biomedical Device Consultants and Laboratories (BDC Laboratories) offers testing services and equipment with simulation training suites tailored for the medical device industry. Their services aid in the mechanical and functional testing of medical device technologies as they relate to clinical outcomes. “We strive to be on that cutting edge of finding ways to provide better and more clinically relevant solutions,” says Craig Weinberg, Ph.D., CEO of BDC Laboratories.

BDC Laboratories has been serving the cardiovascular implantable device community since the mid-1980s. BDC Laboratories has three divisions that provide functional performance testing, simulation solutions with silicone mock vessels and anatomical models, as well as test equipment that can be used for evaluation. Backed by years of experience in cardiovascular technology, the company addresses some of the main challenges in cardiovascular models relating to arterial components, fluid dynamics, and user experience, by offering solutions around each of them. The uniqueness of the company’s portfolio of products and solutions comes from their experience of designing and building test systems that are electromechanical and computer-controlled.

Medical device companies have used BDC Laboratories’ models for physician training and to move away from animal studies and other methods that are more expensive and challenging to the medical devices community.
In addition to ethical issues that need consideration in animal studies, there are also transportation issues, which typically require doctors to fly to a particular location. BDC Laboratories’ solutions are portable, making it easier to travel with them to different doctor’s offices and remote locations.

A majority of what sets us apart as a true solution provider and an engineering group is we engineer solutions to specifications

The most important value proposition that BDC Laboratories offers is that the company tailors and customizes its platform to each of its customers’ requirements. Weinberg recalls an instance where their client needed assistance in evaluating their next-generation medical technology in coronary stenting. They were using models of simulated calcium that had no resemblance to clinical structure or topography. The models’ manufacturing nature—with very crude parts fitted into a tubular section, made it very difficult to use them in an imaging suite. BDC Laboratories developed a solution to provide the client with a real diseased experience. They embedded calcium and plaque representations with topographies based on clinical guidance, giving the client a more accurate representation of a clinical situation with their technology.

“A majority of what sets us apart as a true solution provider and an engineering group is we engineer solutions to specifications,” states Weinberg. They possess in-house capabilities for manufacturing and designing software and all the different attributes of a project, ranging from very basic simulators to surgical suites. “It’s not good enough to just have a solution, but we want to be able to qualify that solution against a clinical result to truly help our customers meet their needs,” Weinberg adds.

At the end of the day, as technology evolves in the cardiovascular discipline, BDC Laboratories continues to identify lastest trans-catheter and endovascular procedures to provide simulation systems for these nascent technologies. The company’s vision is to continue to expand in the cardiovascular realm with turnkey solutions and platforms that help companies find novel ways of training their physicians and developing innovative technologies.

Top 10 Simulation Solution Companies - 2020

Company
BDC Laboratories

Management
Craig Weinberg Ph.D., CEO

Description
Biomedical Device Consultants and Laboratories (BDC Laboratories) offers products and testing services to the medical device industry that aid in the mechanical and functional testing of medical device technologies as they relate to clinical outcomes. For over 30 years, BDC has been providing testing services and equipment to aid with research and development, and functional product evaluation for regulatory submission of vascular grafts, endovascular stents and stent grafts, catheters (PTCA, PICC, CVC, and general guide catheters), and heart valve technologies

BDC Laboratories News

BDC Laboratories Introduces Software to Simplify Complex GOA Determination for Prosthetic Heart Valves

Statys® GOA makes it possible to perform quantitative GOA analysis
WHEAT RIDGE - Biomedical Device Consultants and Laboratories (BDC Laboratories) unveiled its Statys® GOA software at MD&M West. This software, independent of specific equipment, streamlines and automates the analysis of geometric orifice area (GOA) in prosthetic heart valves.
The analysis of GOA poses a challenge due to the intricate geometries and nuanced movements of heart valve substitutes in multi-dimensional imaging. Statys® GOA stands out as the first specialized software designed for quantitatively comparing heart valve leaflet opening areas during hydrodynamic testing and accelerated wear testing, aiding engineering teams in better adherence to ISO 5840 standards.
For more information about the software, visit: https://www.bdclabs.com/testing-equipment/statys-goa-software/
Statys® GOA performs automatic analysis of both video and still images, applying boundary overlays to determine GOA for each frame. This ensures efficient, accurate, and straightforward analysis. The software recognizes the significance of image contrast in GOA analysis. Clear differentiation between leaflet edges and the background is crucial for precise measurements through edge detection. Multiple algorithms are available for customized analysis, allowing correction of image quality issues, especially in challenging lighting conditions that traditionally impede such measurements.
Featuring an intuitive interface and automated report generation, Statys® GOA facilitates easy tracking of test results, minimizing knowledge transfer gaps for all team members.
Craig Weinberg, PhD, Chief Technology Officer at BDC Laboratories, expressed, "This software simplifies an esoteric, complex measurement. Statys® GOA excels at quantifying the opening area of a valve throughout the cardiac cycle."
While some engineering teams currently develop their own GOA analysis algorithms in general-purpose software platforms, Statys® GOA leverages BDC Laboratories' extensive experience to ensure efficient and insightful GOA analysis, even for teams with limited resources.