Design Award for OptraGate

Ivoclar Vivadent's new OptraGate has been named a winner in the Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA) 2005 competition. The OptraGate, officially launched at IDS 2005, keeps a patient's mouth open for long periods of time without pain or discomfort.

The device is made of two polypropylene rings and a soft thermoplastic elastomer that connects them. It has no latex, which can cause allergic reactions in some patients. The inner ring retracts the lips and cheeks. The soft elastomer enables the device to adapt to different mouth anatomies and enhances patient comfort.

"All available expanders and retractors are made of either hard plastic or stainless steel," said Diego Gabathuler, international product manager for Ivoclar Vivadent, "making them stiff and inflexible. This made them uncomfortable and sometimes painful to the patient. The OptraGate is the first and only product that is made of an elastomer, and therefore is anatomically flexible in all three dimensions."

The Medical Design Excellence Awards is the only awards program that exclusively recognizes contributions and advances in the design of medical products. Entries are evaluated on the basis of product innovation, design and engineering excellence, end-user benefit and cost-effectiveness in manufacturing and healthcare delivery.