Catheter design engineers constantly balance the demand for smaller device profiles with the necessity for highly visible fluoroscopic markers. Traditional marker bands force a compromise, adding rigid bulk and creating catch points.
Vizi-Band® Radiopaque Marker Coating bypasses these mechanical constraints. This technology deposits radiopaque metals directly onto catheter shafts at the atomic level, minimizing the profile of the outer diameter (OD) and maintaining optimal trackability.
What is Vizi-Band® Radiopaque Marker Coating?
Vizi-Band® is a proprietary selective metallization process that deposits a dense radiopaque metal, such as gold or platinum directly onto a catheter base substrate. This process creates a seamless, low-profile marker that functions as a highly visible alternative to marker bands.
This method of medical catheter plating enables design engineers to place marker coatings precisely where they are needed. Because the metal is deposited atom-by-atom, the resulting marker features a highly uniform thickness at a lower wall thickness compared to a traditional radiopaque marker band.
Solving the Catheter Profile Crisis: Vizi-Band® vs. Swaged Marker Bands
Traditional marker bands require a mechanical crimping or swaging process that increases catheter outer diameter and creates thermal stress zones, whereas atomically bonded radiopaque coatings maintain a completely reduced outer profile. Physical bands introduce stiffness and risk delamination under high deflection. The following comparison highlights the mechanical and dimensional differences between traditional marker technology and Vizi-Band®:
- Profile Thickness: Traditional swaged bands add 0.001” to 0.003” to the outer diameter. Vizi-Band® marker coatings typically measure in the range of 0.0004” to 0.0008” in thickness.
- Delamination Risk: Traditional bands rely on mechanical and adhesive bonds, which can fail under stress. Vizi-Band® establishes an atomic-level bond directly to the base substrate.
- Flexibility: Rigid metal bands create localized stiff zones on the catheter component. Selective metal deposition maintains the native flexibility and trackability of the underlying base material.
- Complex Geometry Installation: Traditional radiopaque marker bands can pose challenges when attaching to a complex geometry. Vizi-Band® allows for selective deposition of the radiopaque material onto complex geometries.
- Device Orientation: Unlike traditional marker bands, Vizi-Band® enables custom marker geometries that provide both device location and orientation under fluoroscopy.
- Scalability: Unlike traditional marker bands that require individual crimping or swaging, Vizi-Band® applies all marker locations across multiple components in a single plating cycle. For example, 100 components with 15 marker locations each are completed in one batch instead of 1,500 individual attachment operations, dramatically reducing production time and labor costs.
How Does Metallization Affect Base Material Properties?
Electroplating is a low-temperature process that preserves the mechanical properties and dimensional integrity of the base material. This allows engineers to enhance surface functionality without compromising the strength, fatigue performance, or geometry of components manufactured from materials such as stainless steel, nitinol, cobalt-chrome, or MP35N.
Technical Specifications and Material Performance
ProPlate® manufactures Vizi-Band® marker coatings within an ISO 13485 certified facility, ensuring strict adherence to medical device quality and biocompatibility standards. The process supports precise customization to meet specific design and regulatory requirements:
- Substrate Compatibility: Stainless steel, Nitinol, Cobalt-chrome, or MP35N.
- Coating Materials: High-purity biocompatible Gold (Au) and Platinum (Pt).
- Typical Thickness Range: 0.0002” to 0.001” (customizable based on radiopacity requirements).
- Marker Geometry: Fully customizable rings, arrays, focal points, or custom patterns.
Designing Your Next High-Performance Catheter
Transitioning from physical marker bands to atomically bonded coatings simplifies your assembly line, reduces catheter profiles, enables installation onto complex geometries, allows for device orientation visibility, eliminates delamination and mechanical failure points. If you are developing a microcatheter, stent component, or structural heart delivery system, managing the outer profile is critical to procedural success. Removing physical bands from your design allows you to maximize lumen size or decrease overall outer diameter.
Ready to evaluate this technology for your next device iteration? Request a quote today to consult with a ProPlate® plating engineer or order a custom sample kit for evaluation.
About the Author:
Ross Peterson, Chief Executive Officer, ProPlate®
Ross Peterson serves as Chief Executive Officer of ProPlate®, where he provides strategic leadership for the company’s growth, operational alignment, and long-term value creation. He leads ProPlate with a strong focus on advancing precision metallization solutions for the medical device industry, while continuing to support the company’s established presence in other mission-critical industries that require exceptional reliability, precision, and advanced surface-engineering expertise.
With extensive experience in manufacturing leadership and technology-driven operations, Ross is committed to helping medical device OEMs solve complex design and performance challenges through innovative electroplating and selective metallization solutions.