Page 28 - Plastics News October 2021

FEATURE

PLASTICS –The Backbone Of Med Tech Industry

The medical industry has been greatly improved due to the incorpora-
tion of plastics across a whole range of uses in all fields of medicine. Dr. D. L. Pandya
Editor & CEO, Medical Plastics Data Service
based plastic to improve blood flow
in clogged arteries. Traditional stents
are made from metal, and they have
been known to cause additional cardiac
problems. A plastic stent, on the other
hand, is safely absorbed by the body after
its job is complete.
Hip socket replacements: Hip
replacement surgery is one of the most
common procedures performed in
Europe and North America, but metal-
on-metal replacement hip sockets are
more prone to premature failure and
ver the past three decades or so, plastics have made healthcare easier, other challenges than plastic alternatives.
Oplastics have become crucial to safer, and more cost effective today:- A hip socket made with carbon fiber-
modern medicine. Plastics are flexible Sterility, Enhanced Safety, Increased reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK)
enough to fit into the smallest places, Comfort, Innovative Applications, Cost- plastic has been shown to possess
and they’re durable enough to withstand Effectiveness. higher strength, better wear resistance
decades of wear and tear. The practice Medical plastic has transformed several and better biocompatibility than metal
of medicine has entered an age of rapid aspects of the healthcare industry, counterparts, mirroring the natural way
progress, and plastics are at the core of making tools and equipment easier to force is transmitted to better replicate a
medical innovation. natural human hip.
sterilize and safer for both patients and
Plastics Revolutionized the Health- doctors. But plastic has much greater Packaging: Plastic packaging is helping
care Industry potential than simply being used for to keep us safe. Innovations in plastic
Plastics have played a significant role bedpans and scalpels. Following are some medication bottles are making medication
in revolutionizing healthcare. With the of the amazing ways that researchers are management easier—devices such as
advancements in the healthcare industry, using medical grade plastics to heal and prescription bottle timers and plastic
plastic has proved to be one of the few even replace human organs. clip-on magnifiers are helping those in
versatile materials that has been able to Prostheses: Plastics are now the primary need. But plastic packaging isn’t limited
adapt along with the dynamic nature of choice for prostheses. They can help to pills and syrups. Today, donated
the industry. Disposable plastic syringes, align, support and correct, but they don’t blood is collected in PVC bags instead
blood bags, new heart valves, and other stop there. Self-healing, hyper-realistic of glass bottles. Plastic helps protect
medical devices are some of the many plastic prosthetics are right around the each bag’s valuable content, extend shelf
ways plastics have been used. Prosthetics corner. Their properties closely mirror life and decrease the risk of bacterial
is another aspect of healthcare that has the flexibility and sensitivity of human contamination.
seen significant development over the skin, and plastic muscles can even be Artificial corneas: Eye injuries or chronic
years as a result of the impact of plastics. used to obtain mobility in artificial limbs. inflammations can impair a patient’s
With plastic prosthetics, doctors are able Resorbable implants: Disappearing, sight, but not all these can be treated
to provide healthcare solutions with dissolvable plastic implants are not by transplant. Prosthetic corneas can be
enhanced features and functionality. used instead, made from special silicone
science fiction. Today, doctors are
Following are five ways in which beginning to use stents made from corn- that’s 0.3 to 0.5 millimeters thick, highly

28 PLASTICS NEWS OCTOBER 2021 29 PLASTICS NEWS OCTOBER 2021