MRI Supply Chain Acceleration MSCALE

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is driving clinical demand for medical imaging techniques including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI); MRI scanner manufacturers are experiencing a significant increase in demand.

SST Technology is a key supplier to MRI Scanner manufacturers for a complex component assembly. This project proposes an innovative new method of assembly joining for this component, helping address the risks-to-supply of diagnostic medical equipment that the COVID-19 outbreak presents, whilst enabling UK industry to keep pace with growing demand from this high-value medical equipment sector.

Additional supplier partners will be qualified by SST to ensure uninterrupted supply of the assembly from the UK supply-chain into their customer. The project brings forward design-for-manufacture in with rigorous process and hardware-assembly inspections and tests by a third-party test house and by the end customer.

By de-risking supply and increasing capacity through qualifying the new assembly process, the project will bring the business opportunity for SST Technology (both with existing and into new prospect customer systems), whilst continuing to secure UK jobs and the UK supply chain for this high-value medical equipment.

The Extension for Impact funding will help to further de-risk supply by developing a second supplier for a critical key process element. The initial phase has identified good learning and effectively addressed a number of the original issues, but this extended funding will allow us to further establish robust production and scaling up of the original supplier, and bring on a second supplier to further reduce the risks of supply.