QEF Medical
QEF Medical is a Turkish manufacturer of monocrystalline sapphire blades for hair transplantation, based in the Ivedik industrial zone in Ankara. The company produces one product family: reusable sapphire blades for recipient site creation, made under an ISO 13485 quality management system.
What we supply
We carry two QEF products:
- QEF - Spear Point Sapphire Blade, the blade itself. The sizes we stock are listed on the product page.
- QEF - Titanium Blade Handle, the handle the blades are mounted in.
The material
The blades are cut from monocrystalline sapphire, which is crystalline aluminium oxide. On the Mohs scale sapphire rates 9, against roughly 5 to 6 for surgical stainless steel. Sapphire is not a metal, so the blade carries no risk of a nickel or other metal ion reaction, it does not corrode, and it is not magnetic. Because it is a ceramic it is also brittle: a sapphire blade survives autoclaving and long use, but it does not survive being dropped or levered sideways.
Sizes and references
QEF lists 22 references. Each blade is 5 mm long and 0.25 mm thick; the width is what varies, from 1.0 to 2.0 mm in steps of 0.1 mm. Each width is available with a 60 degree tip and with a 45 degree tip, which is the only difference between the two reference series. The 60 degree references run from QF10 to QF20 and the 45 degree references from QF110 to QF120, where the last digits give the width: QF14 is a 1.4 mm blade at 60 degrees, QF114 the same width at 45 degrees.
The choice between the two angles is a matter of how the channel is cut rather than of quality. Custom dimensions are made to order.
Reuse and sterilisation
These blades are reusable and are sterilised by steam autoclave. The manufacturer gives a working life of up to 15,000 or more incisions. That figure is a manufacturer statement, not a measurement of ours, and real life depends on handling: sapphire blunts slowly but chips instantly.
Regulatory status
The QEF Sapphire Blade is CE marked under the European Medical Device Regulation 2017/745, certified by notified body 2292, and registered in EUDAMED. The EMDN classification is L0102. Certificate details are available on request.