“With their expertise in microelectronic assembly and their array of competences, Valtronic is the ideal partner for the assembly of the SENSIMED Triggerfish®. Our continuous ocular monitoring system benefits from state-of-the-art technologies such as ultrasonic flip-chip assembly and silicone molding in a dedicated clean room. Highly flexible, Valtronic is able to absorb production ramp-ups and has also proven to be a reliable partner for continuous process improvements and innovations. “
Sacha Cerboni
Founder, Chief Quality Officer
Microelectronic assembly expertise and state-of-the-art technologies to assemble the MEMS of the Triggerfish lens
Assembly in a dedicated microbial controlled cleanroom
Back in 2012, Sensimed was looking for a partner with expertise in microelectronic assembly for the SENSIMED Triggerfish® continuous ocular monitoring system. It is a complex device providing insights into the ocular volume changes throughout the day and night with the objective to provide physicians with valuable information that can help improve glaucoma diagnosis and treatment. Sacha Cerboni, Founder and Chief Quality Officer of Sensimed, explains that Valtronic stood out as the ideal partner as the company “has a wide experience in the assembly of diverse complex medical devices and of course the range of competences we were looking for”. Sensimed worked together with Valtronic’s multidisciplinary team to industrialize the assembly process for the MEMS (ASIC and sensor) and the antenna. The complex electronic internal part of the lens is assembled by ultrasonic flip-chip, allowing for a thinner contact lens compared to a process with glue involved. “Valtronic has developed a dedicated assembly space with very tight constraints in their clean room for the final silicone based production step of the lens”.
Continuous process improvement for high manufacturing yield and cost optimization
From the start, Sensimed and Valtronic have been working together to implement a series of assembly process improvements. Sacha Cerboni underlines how important it is to manage changes together as “This results not only in optimized production yields, but also in cost reduction, which is always a relevant target. Also, Valtronic is very flexible and can quickly meet production ramp-up needs, which is a great advantage for a company of our size. They really adapt to the needs of a start-up”.
Support in addressing new market opportunities
Valtronic’s Research and Development team provides support at any step of their customers’ projects. Mr Cerboni explains what a huge advantage this represents for his company “Not only Valtronic sets up an optimized production line, you can also rely on their R&D team to adapt your processes to meet the requirements of other countries or to develop, test and implement innovations. This is a huge asset to help opening the doors to new markets. After Europe and the USA, Sensimed is now targeting new market opportunities like Japan, where Valtronic is also a registered manufacturer”.
