Life-Changing solutions recognized with Alleima Innovation Prize at Annual General Meeting 2026
Diabetes monitors, pacemakers and advanced hearing implants all require small, advanced wires to function. The combination of advanced engineering and a deep understanding of device needs has made Alleima a world-leading manufacturer of ultra-fine medical wire. During the Annual General Meeting in Sandviken, Cacie McDorman, Gary Davies, Katina Whitten and Timothy Tacionis, the people behind the innovations, were awarded the Alleima Innovation Prize 2026.
For people who have suffered from heart problems, Parkinson’s disease or diabetes, or who have been deaf from birth, Alleima’s life-changing solutions can contribute to improved quality of life. From the start, operations manufactured wires for the hard disk drive industry, but innovations changed the business gradually and are now almost entirely about manufacturing ultrafine wires and wire components for the medical technology industry. During the last five years, sales have almost quadrupled. The products are used, among other things, in vascular therapy, continuous glucose monitors, pacemakers and neurostimulation systems.
The motivation said:
The Alleima Innovation Prize 2026 is awarded to Cacie McDorman, Gary Davies, Katina Whitten och Timothy Tacionis for their exceptional work in developing medical fine wire and wire components for sensing and stimulation in minimally invasive and implantable devices. Through their expertise in engineering and precision wire manufacturing, they have developed in-house processing and coating technologies that achieve ultrafine dimensions, tight tolerances, biocompatibility and reliable stable signal transmission – all of which are crucial to meeting the demanding quality requirements of the medical industry. Their customer-centric mindset embodies Alleima’s commitment to strong customer partnerships and innovation, enabling the next generation of smaller, smarter, life changing medical solutions.
“This year’s winners are a strong and compelling example of Alleima’s cutting-edge expertise and innovation within the medical segment. Through deep materials science know-how and product development in close collaboration with our customers, the team has delivered outstanding results, solving complex technical challenges while building a highly successful business. Most importantly, their products have the potential to genuinely improve people’s lives,” says Göran Björkman, President and CEO of Alleima.
One example of how the technology works is the wire used in continuous glucose monitors. The wire that we produce is the sensing component and functions as two different electrodes from the inclusion of multiple coatings. The wire is modified by our customer to expose the different layers along the length in a precise way. An active chemical is applied to the surface
which reacts with glucose in the interstitial fluid in the body causing a chemical reaction to the active layers on the wire. This signal can be analyzed to provide important data to the user and caregivers. Basically, it acts like a small electrochemical cell, a battery, that provides information about blood sugar concentration.
“One of the main drivers for us is the ability to solve our customers’ challenges. What distinguishes our development is that what we do is something that very few are capable of. Customers often come to us after having tried other options without success. This means that products are rarely easy to design, but it is only the challenges that make it rewarding when we succeed anyway, in most cases,” says Cacie McDorman, Global Product Manager, Wire Technologies.
“What motivates me the most is seeing the results of what we do, that we are doing things that improve other people’s lives. When you see a video of a young child who has never heard before and that cochlear device gets turned on for the first time, it will bring tears to your eyes. In the future, we can use these technologies and platforms that we’ve developed and leverage them towards other parts of the medical device industry, and in particular, things like remote patient monitoring,” says, Timothy Tacionis, Lead engineer, Business Unit Medical within Alleima.
The Alleima Innovation Prize is a yearly award facilitated by the Alleima Group, recognizing important and innovative achievements in product and process development.
