Over the years Keyence has become well known for the development of measurement and quality assurance solutions. The company´s range includes sensing, vision and measurement products, along with laser markers and microscopes. It is continuously looking to develop innovative and reliable products to meet the needs of its large customer base. It was no surprise, therefore, to see medical aesthetics specialist GC Aesthetics turn to Keyence when the time came to acquire a new digital microscope. During the course of its business activities, there are many technical requirements that need to be assessed, investigated, measured and controlled by GC Aesthetics. One particular requirement is that of surface finish on implants to assess various metrology parameters and surface topography features, patterns, consistency and uniformity.
"GC Aesthetics has more than three decades of experience manufacturing silicone implants through its brands Nagor and Eurosilicone," explains Fraser Harvie, Product Development Manager. "We work in partnership with the medical community to continually develop high quality products and services that meet both the surgeons´ and patient´s clinical needs."
Techniques such as scanning electron microscopy-SEM and digital microscopy were outsourced by GC Aesthetics. According to Harvie, results turnaround time with outsourcing such tests on occasion was time consuming. In order to maximise time, and change implementation it was natural for the technical team to give due consideration to as wide a range of measurement products as possible.
When asked about the buying process, Harvie says: "We had a clear understanding as to what was needed to maintain the highest standards of measurement, quality and safety. The technical team whilst not having used a Keyence product before, all felt the need for a system that could generate imaging of the highest resolution."
In addition to quality imaging, the chosen device needed to be small and indeed portable enough to be moved easily if required. Lastly, operating multiple metrology parameters had to be a simple enough affair.
In other words, GC Aesthetics was looking for a way to not only maintain its rigorous testing practices and quality control, but to also deliver faster results internally, and to all stakeholders in an efficient manner. While the search for providers was ongoing, Keyence representatives contacted GC Aesthetics and demonstrated how the digital microscope VHX-6000 Series could add value, flexibility and speed.
Harvie explains: "We purchased and started operating a Keyence digital microscope VHX-6000 Series. Having in-house capability to produce high resolution images of surface topographies along with the necessary metrology parameter specific data on surface profiles gives us the ability to produce test data very quickly, maintain quality and control."
Not only is speed to results of vital importance. So too is the number of samples GC Aesthetics can test, review and compare. This now gives the company an unprecedented ability to turn-around and produce high volumes of sample data on varied and multiple samples in days, and in some cases hours, compared to before.
