Abbott is a leader in the biomedical engineering industry – both on the pharmaceutical and on the medical device side – known for their high quality products. During the last week of classes, I got the opportunity to visit their Temecula, CA facility and learn about Abbott’s Vascular division. It was an invaluable tour and I’m so glad I went! Thanks to the BME VGSA Senator and GSBME who organized it with Abbott and thanks to those students willing to drive all the way there and back and give others a ride.
Abbott Vascular’s main product is their stents, both metal and drug-eluting stents. However, we also learned about their guide wires, catheters, and stent delivery systems, all part of the interventional surgical procedure necessary to implant stents. They also make other vascular products, like methods for sealing surgical cuts made in blood vessels. We heard from their Quality Director, learned about their products, played with demo stent devices, and toured their manufacturing cleanrooms (from the outside).
It was clear that this wasn’t Abbott’s first time conducting a tour. Abbott Vascular has a large educational wing of the company dedicated to educating medical professionals, students, and others interested in the process involved in manufacturing medical devices. I think this is great that they provide access to their methods so people can understand the true complexity of building these products, which at first just seem like a simple tube.
My favorite part was undoubtedly seeing the actual devices and testing out their function for myself. I could go on and on about all the intricacies I learned about the products but let’s just say it’s a little like rocket science inside the human body. My second favorite part was the drive – it was my first time in Temecula, and really anywhere so far inland in California.
Published on December 14th, 2016
Last updated on January 20th, 2021