ステンレス製アイド縫合針の開発と普及

─マニー株式会社の原点─

抄録

This study clarified the R&D and diffusion process of the breakthrough stainless surgical needle developed by MANI Inc., a Japanese company engaged in the manufacture of high-quality, durable small medical instruments. In the 1960s, MANI developed the world’s first stainless surgical needle, driven by the timely decision-making of top management to invest its R&D against the norm, and their persistent efforts to solve technological problems related to raw material and the manufacturing process. Despite its superior quality and acceptable price compared with the traditional iron needle, the diffusion of the stainless surgical needle was slow until the end of the 1980s. This could be attributed to Japanese hospitals’ disinterest in management, traditional tenets about the nurse’s role, and the interests of the wholesalers. During the 1960s-1970s Japanese hospitals disregarded management due to high demand for medical care, and consequently, they were not concerned with the breakthrough of small products. In addition, Japanese nurses had accepted a traditionally subsidiary role to doctors, while the responsibility for iron needle quality control, a tedious task, was theirs. On the other hand, the wholesalers considered that the diffusion of stainless surgical needles would decrease their sales margins from surgical needles, given the durability of the stainless version. MANI tried to break the deadlock in the 1960s-70s by partnering with exceptional individuals who offered their support to the stainless surgical needle for specific reasons. In the 1980s, as Japanese hospitals became more interested in management, nurses became more empowered and questions were raised over their traditional role. Following these developments, the demand for stainless surgical needles increased dramatically in Japan. As a result of their sustained effort to maintain the stainless surgical needle business, MANI was poised to seize this opportunity and finally diffused stainless surgical needles into the market by 1990.