Drucker Diagnostics partnered with Nuo Therapeutics to design a custom centrifuge for use with their Aurix System, which creates a biodynamic gel for healing chronic wounds. Photo credit: Madison Berrier
Drucker Diagnostics is excited to bring its expertise in centrifuge design to the wound care market. By partnering with Nuo Therapeutics to create a custom centrifuge for their cutting-edge Aurix System, we are extending our mission of making people safer, healthier, and more productive into emerging areas of healthcare.
An Advanced Approach to Healing
Nuo Therapeutics’ Aurix System is an advanced autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy designed specifically for chronic, non-healing wounds, like diabetic foot ulcers and pressure ulcers. Chronic wounds affect millions of patients worldwide, and finding reliable solutions is critical to improving patient outcomes. With a 6-minute process from blood draw to gel application, Aurix has proven to reduce wound size by 50% within two weeks, offering new hope to those who suffer from these conditions.
“My personal idea of the mission of Nuo Therapeutics is that our goal is to save lives by saving limbs,” said Rob Harrison, Nuo Vice President of Commercial Operations. “While the spending for wound care has tripled over the last four years, the amputation rate has been unchanged for over a decade. Therapies like Aurix are super, super critical to reducing that rate.”
The key to Aurix’s effectiveness lies in its ability to use a patient’s own platelets. After a small blood draw, the sample is immediately placed into a centrifuge to separate the platelets from the red blood cells. These platelets are then mixed with additives from the Aurix Reagent Kit to create a biodynamic gel that is applied directly to the wound. This platelet-rich gel accelerates healing, even in wounds that have been resistant to other treatments.
Drucker’s Role in Developing a Custom Centrifuge
In order to keep the Aurix System’s process as quick and efficient as possible, Nuo Therapeutics required a centrifuge that could execute a 1-minute spin to separate the platelets from a patient’s blood sample. According to Harrison, who had partnered with Drucker Diagnostics in a previous role, the decision to work together on this project was simple for one crucial reason—Drucker is a vertically integrated, U.S.-based company.
“During COVID, I had molds that were trapped overseas,” he explained. “And on this project, I needed a very short timeline. I did not have time to take a chance with an overseas mold manufacturer, so that played a big role. I would have already chosen Drucker, but that made [the decision] much easier.”
Leveraging our in-house engineering capabilities and our history of developing high-quality laboratory equipment, Drucker Diagnostics partnered with Nuo to design a custom centrifuge that perfectly fit their needs. Our team worked closely with Nuo Therapeutics throughout the development process and performed extensive testing to ensure the centrifuge produced platelet-rich plasma that matched the specifications of the Aurix system.
“Together, these two companies are going shape what wound care looks like,” Harrison said. “And that’s pretty amazing, because if there is a group of people that desperately needs help, it’s chronic wound patients.”
A Life-Changing Solution for Chronic Wounds
The Aurix System has delivered remarkable clinical results, particularly in the treatment of non-healing diabetic foot wounds and other chronic conditions. Nuo has reported that the Aurix gel not only accelerates healing in stubborn wounds, but also reduces the need for limb amputations— with a healing rate of 81% in an all-comers clinical study with the Centers for Medicare.
Since the introduction of Drucker Diagnostics’ custom centrifuge, hundreds of units have been produced and delivered, with plans for additional orders as the Aurix System continues to gain traction in the wound care market. This collaboration between Nuo Therapeutics and Drucker Diagnostics highlights the importance of innovation in medical technology as both companies work together to improve patient care.
“As a consultative effort, I look at Drucker as a partner for the future to help develop what may be next,” Harrison said. “Our program is secure [using] the centrifuge today, and that’s super important to me. Now once we have today guaranteed, we can start to think about tomorrow, because that’s not promised. Tomorrow is where we can dream.”
Drucker Diagnostics is Always Innovating
Breaking into the wound care market with Nuo Aurix is just the beginning for Drucker Diagnostics. Our ability to design custom centrifuges for specialized applications opens the door to future collaborations and innovations in the healthcare industry.
“Drucker Diagnostics is built on a foundation of collaboration and innovation,” said Tom Mallison, Drucker Diagnostics president. “Working with Nuo Therapeutics to develop a centrifuge for the Aurix System demonstrates our dedication to providing solutions that make a real difference. We believe partnerships like this truly have the power to change lives and make people safer, healthier, and more productive.”
Are you in need of a custom centrifuge solution? Contact our sales team at sales@druckerdiagnostics.com to discuss how we can work together to meet your unique processing needs. We can also be reached by phone at +1-866-265-1486 (US Toll-Free).
The Aurix centrifuge is compact and efficient, separating a patient’s blood in just one minute. Photo credit: Madison Berrier