Picosun Group
Revolutionising Healthcare Space with ALD Thin-film Technology

It has been long since biomedical implants and devices became a reality. Today, they witness widespread usage to treat conditions from broken or dislocated bones to irregularities in heart functions. However, it is critical to understand the surface properties of biomedical devices and implants that are placed inside human bodies to ensure that they are safe to use and stay operational for long. A Finnish company, Picosun Group, appropriately understands these dynamics and leverages its Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technology to manufacture biocompatible and bioactive coatings to fulfil the needs of healthcare industry. Picosun’s ALD technology functionalises surfaces of medical devices and implants, ensuring that they stay effective in the human body for a longer period. Invented by Dr. Tuomo Suntola, a Finnish innovator, technology leader, and a board member of Picosun, in 1974, ALD is no less than a revolution that already witnesses extensive usage in other industries such as microelectronics.

Headquartered in Espoo, Finland, Picosun is a premier provider of ALD thin-film coating technology leveraged in the fabrication of computer chips, LEDs, sensors, watch parts, and more. “3D object coating is one of our specialties, and we have been implementing it for years in various industries. Now, we have a strong team that provides the solutions to medical segment as well,” says Dr. Jani Kivioja, CTO of Picosun Group. The company has recently launched their specific ‘PicoMEDICAL^™’ solutions to address the needs of medical device manufacturers.

Picosun’s PicoMEDICAL^™ solutions are tailored especially to the needs of healthcare industries that are often still new to ALD. They not only consist of the ALD equipment itself, but also optimized, production-proven processes, application and ramp-up consultancy, and the most extensive and versatile after-sales service and support packages to keep the customer’s production running flawlessly.

PICOSUN^™ ALD equipment features a patented dual-chamber, hot-wall design, and fully separated precursor inlets to enable deposition of the highest quality ALD films. This design simultaneously ensures fast processing with excellent yield, low particle levels, and superior performance of the coating. Additionally, the agile design and easy maintenance of the ALD equipment ensure low cost-of-ownership to customers. In the medical space, the company’s ALD technology has been employed already for years to produce bioactive coatings on dental implants by CONMET, a Russian-based manufacturer of medical devices and titanium implants. Picosun is also a long-term partner of Nanexa AB, a Swedish nanotechnology company focused on nano-enabled drug delivery solutions.

We provide healthcare industries with comprehensive, turn-key ALD solutions to enable novel, cutting-edge products with improved safety, lifetime, and comfort of use

In the future, Picosun aims to continue concentrating on the utilisation of ALD in biomedical devices and implants. In a bid to do that, the company has been associating with biomedical companies that produce orthopedic and dental implants, implantable sensors, neural stimulators, stents, and more. “Our slogan is ‘Agile ALD’, and we conform to it by providing healthcare industries with comprehensive, turn-key ALD solutions that enable novel, cutting-edge products and add value to existing ones in form of improved safety, lifetime, and comfort of use,” adds Juhana Kostamo, managing director of Picosun Group. Picosun’s in-depth knowledge and understanding of ALD and their full-scale technology consultancy, services, and products make them an ideal strategic partner for all medical equipment manufacturers that seek a revolutionary solution to spearhead their industries.