US medical device manufacturer Ethicon Endo-Surgery (EES) has acquired SterilMed for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition will broaden EES’ product portfolio with SterilMed’s ability to provide medical device reprocessing and equipment repair to help healthcare providers reduce costs.

Karen Licitra, Chairman and Worldwide Franchise Chairman for EES said: “Together, we can continue our focus on developing innovative surgical solutions, while providing healthcare facilities a wider range of flexible product options to save money, reduce medical waste, and maintain quality care for patients.”

Minnesota-based SterilMed will be managed as part of the EES franchise, but will continue operations as a separate company under SterilMed.

Brian Sullivan, Chairman and CEO of SterilMed, said: “Becoming part of the Ethicon Endo-Surgery franchise, one of the largest and most respected medical device companies in the world, will have a positive impact on our business, while also expanding our product portfolio.”

Ethicon Endo-Surgery, a Johnson & Johnson company, manufactures and markets medical devices for minimally invasive and open surgical procedures.

An ultra-thin, stick-on tattoo that uses sensor technology could one day replace wires and cables connecting patients to machines to monitor heart rate and brain waves.

The epidermal electronic system (EES) contains tiny transmitters and receivers, miniature sensors, light-emitting diodes, and networks of carefully crafted wire filaments.

The new technology is being developed collectively from three universities in the US and two from Singapore and China.

John Rogers, Professor in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, described EES as “a technology that blurs the distinction between electronics and biology”.

The “electronic skin” is designed to be “mechanically and physiologically invisible to the user,” said Dr Rogers.

He claimed that the technology will also solve many problems with current systems using complicated wiring and cables, which can be inconvenient and distressing for patients and doctors.

The prototypes look like flat, stick-on, lacework tattoos and are about the size of a postage stamp.

At less than 50 microns, each tattoo is thinner than a human hair. They don't need glue to stick to the skin, as they use close-contact van der Waals forces that act at the molecular level.

During a study, the researchers found that the devices stayed in place for up to 24 hours, under ideal conditions.

The EES devices can take their power either from stray, or transmitted, electromagnetic radiation and partly from miniature solar panels.