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Medical equipment

Luma supplies wire to medical industries all over the world. Medical applications are ruled by strict specifications and rules to ensure the safety of patients and medical staff.
Most of the Luma wire supplied to the medical industry is Gold plated tungsten wire. One major reason for using tungsten wire in medical applications is the strength and durability. This makes it possible to use very fine dimensions, still trusting the wire to cope with high load. Also, tungsten wire has a very high density, 19.3 g/cm3, which make it highly visible on x-ray.

Normally, the tungsten wire will be plated with gold. This will, for example, improve the wettability for soldering. It will also mean a nobler surface.

Below are some examples of medical applications using Luma gold plated tungsten wire or Luma gold plated tungsten-rhenium wire;


A stent is a tube which is inserted into for example a body vessel to prevent or counteract a disease-induced localized flow constriction. The term may also refer to a tube used to temporarily hold such a natural conduit open, to allow access for surgery. One gold plated tungsten wire is weaved into the stent for its visibility on x-ray. Due to the high density of tungsten, it is visible on x-ray guides when the medical staffs are placing the stent within the artery.

Guide wire

Guide wires help to safely access blood vessels or other organs. Gold plated tungsten wire is used as guide wire entering blood vessels or other organs. As the tungsten wire has high density, it is clearly visible on x-ray, guiding medical staff in tight spaces such as obstructed valves or channels when for example inserting and positioning catheters.

Electro surgery

Electro surgery is a technique applying high-frequency electric current to biological tissue as a mean to cut, coagulate, desiccate or fulgurate tissue. Tungsten wire is used in loop and needle electrodes due to its mechanical properties at high temperature, and its ability to keep its shape and wire integrity throughout an entire surgery.

Proton beam therapy

Luma gold plated tungsten-rhenium wire is used by manufacturers of so called proton beam therapy. This technique has proven to be less damaging to healthy tissue when treating cancer tumours. The wire is weaved to mesh and put in frames. The equipment uses a similar technology to particle detectors, directing protons to tumours and destroying tumour DNA. Gold plated wire is used to prevent oxidation.