Surgical Instruments

When you spend hours at the bench or under a microscope, the smallest details in your tools make the biggest difference. The weight of your forceps, the glare from a light, the feel of a pair of scissors after repetitive use. Everything adds up. Choosing the right material isn’t just a matter of preference. It directly affects comfort, accuracy, and long‑term success in the lab.

Micrometers are the backbone of precision measurement in laboratory research. These sophisticated instruments, whether integrated into complex equipment or used as standalone tools, are critical for maintaining the accuracy that scientific work demands. Yet many researchers overlook a simple truth: even the finest micrometer is only as reliable as the care it receives.

Proper maintenance isn't just about extending instrument life. It's about protecting the integrity of your research data. A poorly maintained micrometer can introduce measurement errors that cascade through entire experiments, compromising months of work.

In surgical and laboratory settings, instruments are designed for highly specific functions. Two of the most common, forceps and clamps, may appear similar at first glance, but they serve distinct purposes. Understanding their differences helps researchers, veterinarians, and surgeons choose the right tool for precision and safety. Forceps and clamps serve distinct but complementary roles in surgical procedures, each designed for specific tasks and anatomical considerations.

You’re halfway through a procedure when it hits you... The surgical scissors in your hand were just used for something else. In a busy university research lab, that’s all it takes for cross-contamination to creep in. These unsung heroes of small animal surgery are always within reach, but if they move from one task to another without proper decontamination, they can silently sabotage months of careful work. One contamination event can invalidate entire data sets, force costly repeat procedures, or worse, compromise animal welfare.

In university small animal research, surgical precision directly impacts both data reliability and animal welfare. Hemostatic forceps are essential instruments for controlling bleeding and minimizing trauma. From fine Mosquito Forceps for microsurgery to robust Rochester Carmalt clamps for larger vessels, choosing the right instrument, and using it correctly, can dramatically improve your surgical outcomes.

But even experienced lab teams can fall into bad habits. Here are the most common mistakes to avoid, along with guidance on selecting the best hemostatic forceps for your protocols.

In small animal veterinary surgery, precision is vital, and success often depends on the smallest details. Whether you're performing a routine spay on a kitten or excising a mass from an elderly retriever, even the smallest instruments can shape a patient’s outcome. Among these, thumb forceps, commonly referred to as tweezers, quietly play a starring role in surgical success.

In today’s research and surgical environments, the quality of your tools can directly affect the quality of your results. For decades, WPI has supported life science researchers and microsurgeons with reliable, precision-engineered instruments. Among them, the scalpel, which is simple in concept but powerful in impact and continues to evolve to meet modern demands.

At WPI, our complete lineup of hand-held scalpels, disposable surgical knives, sapphire blades, and ergonomic handles are engineered to support the most demanding research and surgical applications, ensuring clean, consistent, and precise performance in critical applications. Here’s how today’s scalpels are improving outcomes at the bench and in the field.

In the world of surgical tools and laboratory precision, even subtle design differences can make a big impact. When it comes to surgical scissors, the choice between straight and curved blades is more than a matter of personal preference. It’s about matching the right tool to the right application.

Whether you're performing surface-level dissections, working deep in tissue, or handling delicate anatomical structures, understanding how blade geometry affects visibility, control, and access is essential. In this article, we’ll explore the unique benefits of both straight and curved surgical scissors, outline the applications where each excels, and help you make informed choices for your specific workflow.

Thumb forceps, the pinch-style instruments used in labs, cleanrooms, surgical suites, workshops, and even jewelry studios, are essential precision tools. Whether you’re handling tissue, adjusting tiny components, or manipulating delicate materials, keeping these instruments in top condition is key to both performance and longevity. Here are six tips to keep your thumb forceps in peak condition.

Precision and control are vital in ophthalmic procedures, and having the right surgical scissors makes all the difference. WPI offers a large variety of high-performance scissors specifically suited for the demands of eye surgery and laboratory microdissection work. Here's a quick guide to some of the most commonly used types of ophthalmic scissors.

With the incredible variety of designs, including the style, tip shape, size, and construction material, it can be daunting to select the ideal surgical forceps for a specific application. Surgical forceps are essential tools in laboratory applications, particularly in medical, biological, and pharmaceutical research. By choosing the appropriate instrument, you ensure your precision, efficiency, and safety. Consider the factors when you are selecting surgical forceps for laboratory applications.

Over the past century, hand-held surgical instruments have undergone significant advancements in materials, design, and functionality. These instruments, which are designed for cutting, clamping, grasping, and retracting tissue, have developed to improve surgical precision, minimize trauma, and enhance patient outcomes. The transformation of surgical instruments has morphed basic stainless steel tools into highly specialized, ergonomic, and disposable devices designed for specific procedures.

Sterilization baskets are essential tools in laboratory settings, designed to ensure the safe and efficient sterilization, organization, and transport of instruments, glassware, and small components. WPI sterilization baskets and trays are constructed from stainless steel, so they resist corrosion and withstand high temperatures. A key feature of these baskets is their evenly distributed perforations or mesh design, which allows optimal penetration of sterilizing agents, such as steam, gas (like, ethylene oxide or hydrogen peroxide), or plasma, while promoting proper drainage and drying. Smooth, burr-free edges and surfaces minimize the risk of damage to delicate labware and enhance user safety. Many of our baskets also include silicone mats and grips, to securely hold items during sterilization.

Surgical forceps are common handheld surgical instruments used for securely grasping and manipulating an object. In a laboratory environment, they may be used for working with tissues, plants, wafers, or small components. In electronics and manufacturing, they can be use when handling circuit boards, jewelry, watch pieces, and much more. Especially in the medical and laboratory realms, the safe handling of surgical forceps is critical for the safety of both the operator and the subject to minimize the chances of infection or injury.

Tungsten carbide (TC) inserts have revolutionized the field of surgical instrumentation, offering benefits that make them a preferred choice. These inserts, typically made from a combination of tungsten and carbon, exhibit exceptional hardness, strength, and resistance to wear and corrosion, maximizing the lifespan of Surgical scissors, Forceps, and Needle holders.