Cambridge Polymer Group

10/02/2026

Some intrepid Cambridge Polymer Group employees and their families braved the threat of a Nor'easter last week for an evening of food, fun, and team building at Kimball Farm in Westford, MA.

The weather forecast may have been uncertain, but dinner was not: hamburgers, chicken, grilled vegetables, corn on the cob, potato salad, watermelon, and, of course, Kimball Farm's famous homemade ice cream. 🍦

Highlights of the evening included a spirited round of mini golf led by CEO Gavin Braithwaite, several attempts to improve averages at the batting cages, reports of underage driving in the bumper cars, and an unexpected bumper boat recovery mission after one participant became stranded in the middle of the lake.

Whether the bumper boat's unexpected loss of propulsion was caused by mechanical failure or user error remains a matter of debate. Several hypotheses were proposed, but the root-cause investigation was ultimately suspended due to insufficient data and an abundance of ice cream.

Despite forecasts calling for a decidedly less pleasant outcome, the rain and wind held off throughout the festivities, and the group was treated to a spectacular sunset. It was nice to appreciate the results of light scattering without having to write a report. 🌅

Thanks to everyone who joined us for a memorable evening at Kimball Farm!

09/22/2026

Connecting the dots between tests to solve manufacturing problems 🔬

This week, Kalpana Viswanathan is in Baltimore attending the 2026 Adhesives and Sealants Council Testing Short Course, where she's presenting “Connecting the Characterization Dots: Multi-Technique Case Studies.” The presentation explores how multiple analytical techniques can be used together to better understand material behavior, product performance, and the root causes of challenging manufacturing and product issues.

Whether investigating unexpected performance differences, troubleshooting processing challenges, or identifying the source of a failure, the right answer often comes from combining insights from multiple characterization methods.

If you're in the Baltimore area through September 23 and would like to connect with Kalpana, send us a message to arrange a meeting.

09/22/2026

Attending The MedTech Conference 2026 in Boston this October?

Stop by Booth 1036 to discuss your materials and product development questions.

Meet members of our team, including:

🔹 Gavin Braithwaite, PhD, CEO
🔹 Becky Bader, PhD, Director of Regulatory Services
🔹 Veronica Holmes, PhD, Technical Sales Manager

Whether you are developing a new medical device, evaluating a material for a new application, investigating an unexpected failure, or trying to better understand a performance issue, we would be happy to talk through your project.

Visiting Boston from out of town? Take advantage of your time in the area and ask about scheduling a visit to our Woburn, MA laboratory.

We look forward to connecting with the medtech community October 19-21.

09/03/2026

Why do two materials that meet the same specification perform differently?

Why does product performance sometimes change after manufacturing, shipping, or storage?

Join Cambridge Polymer Group for a free webinar on the practical applications and limitations of rheological testing.

Joe White, PhD, and Gavin Braithwaite, PhD, will share real-world case studies covering manufacturing defects, coating development, temperature excursions during shipping and storage, and the relationship between measurable material properties and product performance.

You will also learn more about the strengths and limitations of rheological testing and how to interpret rheological data more effectively.

📅 September 16, 2026
🕑 2:00 PM ET
Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7899051418210751838?source=FB

09/01/2026

We are excited to share that Cambridge Polymer Group has achieved ISO 13485:2016 certification for Polymers Contract Research, Extractables & Leachables Analytical Testing, and the Sales of Customized Bio-Medical Materials.

For more than 30 years, we have helped medical device, life sciences, and healthcare organizations address complex materials challenges through polymer science, analytical testing, and biomedical materials expertise.

This certification reflects the strength of the quality systems supporting that work and provides additional confidence for customers operating in the medical device industry.

We would like to thank our employees for their dedication and our customers for their continued trust and partnership.

Learn more: https://www.campoly.com/blog/cambridge-polymer-group-achieves-iso-134852016-certification/

08/19/2026

Fourteen dogs developed neurologic signs after ingesting hydrogel from a commercial cooling pet pad.

After ASPCA Poison Control identified similarities across the cases, researchers investigated whether a component of the hydrogel could explain the reported findings.

Analytical testing of hydrogel from the same product line detected acrylamide at approximately 4,900 ppm. While the findings do not establish causation, they support the hypothesis that acrylamide monomer toxicosis may have contributed to the reported illnesses.

The study has been accepted for presentation at the 2026 USAHA/AAVLD Annual Meeting.

Fourteen dogs developed neurologic signs after ingesting hydrogel from a commercial cooling pet pad. When ASPCA Poison Control identified similarities across the cases, investigators sought to determine whether a component of the hydrogel could explain the clinical presentation. As a scientist at Ca...

08/13/2026

Michael S. Young's recent NACRW presentation explored a comparison that doesn't happen very often: food residue testing and medical device extractables & leachables (E&L) studies.

Both fields use many of the same analytical tools, including LC-MS and GC-MS. What's different is the question being asked.

Food residue testing often focuses on known compounds with established limits. Medical device E&L studies frequently begin with unknown compounds that must be identified and evaluated before safety assessments can proceed.

Join Michael and Becky Bader, Ph.D., CPG's Director of Regulatory Services, as they compare these approaches and discuss how analytical chemistry, toxicology, and regulatory science intersect across both industries.

📅 August 25, 2026
🕒 2:30 PM ET

Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6248001670211316058?source=FB

07/09/2026

We're excited to share that Michael S. Young, Ph.D. will be presenting at the North American Chemical Residue Workshop (NACRW) on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.

His presentation, "Analytical Strategies to Identify and Quantify Extractable/Leachable Chemical Residues from Implantable Medical Devices: A Comparison with Food Safety Residue Analysis," will explore how analytical approaches used in food residue testing compare with the identification and quantification of extractable and leachable compounds in implantable medical devices.

Using examples from both fields, the talk will discuss the application of targeted and non-targeted LC-MS and GC-MS methods, as well as key differences in analytical and regulatory requirements.

📅 Wednesday, July 15, 2026
🕤 9:30–9:50 AM
📍 Room Texas A

If you're attending NACRW, we hope you'll join us for this interesting discussion at the intersection of analytical chemistry, chemical residue analysis, and medical device characterization.

07/08/2026

A cleaning process may be validated today, but will it remain defensible after a process change, a contamination event, or a notified body review?

In medical device manufacturing, cleanliness is not a one-time achievement. It requires a risk-based approach that can withstand evolving regulatory expectations, manufacturing variability, and real-world challenges.

Join us for Clean by Design: Navigating Medical Device Cleanliness Through Validation, Regulatory Alignment, and Failure Response and learn how to build, maintain, and defend effective cleaning validation programs.

Industry experts Stephen Spiegelberg of Cambridge Polymer Group and Jeffrey Rufner of JAR Consulting will explore:
🔹 Initial cleaning validation and revalidation triggers
🔹 Regulatory scrutiny and notified body challenges
🔹 Excursions in established cleaning processes

You'll gain practical insights on how to:
• Define and justify cleanliness requirements using risk-based approaches
• Interpret cleaning results in context
• Strengthen validation strategies for regulatory review
• Assess the impact of process changes and excursions
• Support both compliance and patient safety through informed decision-making

Whether you work in Quality, Validation, Manufacturing Engineering, Regulatory Affairs, or Process Development, this webinar will provide actionable guidance for managing device cleanliness with confidence.

📅 July 22, 2026
🕑 2:00–3:00 PM EDT

Reserve your spot today: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8566811218896187480?source=FB

07/06/2026

There’s more to replicating real tissue than matching how it looks or feels.

The most important behaviors are often the hardest to reproduce:

• How tissue cuts, chars, and changes during a procedure
• How it responds to different forms of energy, from sound waves to X-rays
• The feel, resistance, and feedback tissue provides during surgical manipulation and intervention

These interactions can have a significant impact on training realism, device development, and performance evaluation.

Cambridge Polymer Group partnered with Pulse Medical Demonstration Models (Pulse MDM) during the development of E Tissue®, applying our expertise in hydrogel formulation and characterization to help replicate key aspects of tissue response during electrosurgery.

What's exciting is that the underlying material science extends far beyond electrocautery. The same hydrogel design principles can be applied to training models, device development, robotics, haptics, and other applications where realistic, repeatable tissue analogs are needed.

Learn more about the science behind engineering tissue response:
🔗 https://www.campoly.com/blog/engineering-realistic-tissue-response-enabling-electrosurgical-training-and-beyond/

Learn about E Tissue®:
🔗 https://pulsemdm.com/portfolio/electrocautery-non-biologic-e-tissue/