Page 32 - Plastics News October 2021

FEATURE

• Plastics are key components of their already impressive properties. This reached nearly $280 Billion in 2019, and
modern prosthetic devices, providing includes enhanced wear resistance, so that amount is expected to exceed $409.5
comfort, flexibility, mobility and a life- prosthesis components are strong and Billion by 2023.
like appearance. viable even after years of use. This growth is fuelled by the aging

Strong production tolerances – PEEK population increasing the demand for
and Torlon components are fabricated existing and new medical technologies
using precise, easily repeatable processes, and growing application sectors globally.
so they can be built with extremely tight Plastic resins will represent nearly 73%
tolerances. of raw materials used in the fabrication
of medical disposables.
Advanced prostheses demand advanced
materials, and high-performance 65% of the total plastics volume in
polymers like PEEK and Torlon are on healthcare packaging comes from tubing,
the leading edge. syringes, containers and kits.

• Artificial hips and knees use plastics COVID-19 and the Critical Role of
to help provide smoothly working, Medical Plastic Products
trouble-free joints. COVID-19 is changing the face of
• Not too long ago, almost no medical healthcare at an unprecedented pace.
packaging had tamper - evident Plastic based Medical Products arein
seals. Today, nearly 100 percent of the frontline playing a crucial role in
all pharmaceutical packaging does. ensuring that the right technologies are
In addition, child-resistant caps available for healthcare providers and
help keep medicines away from little patients to combat the virus. Respiratory
hands. support equipment is the most obvious
need, accompanied by a plethora of
• From the machinery housing to equipment necessary for the care of
petri dishes, plastics serve healthcare patients with severe symptoms such
needs both large and small. as infusion pumps, syringe pumps, pump
PEEK and Torlon are essential materials • As the need for home healthcare consumables, IV access, ICU equipment,
in prosthesis design and production. continues to increase, plastics will catheters, and artificial feeding equipment
Many of the gains made in prosthesis play a major role in creating simple, and hospital beds.Doctors and nurses
technology are the result of improved portable and effective medical on the frontlines of the war against
materials, and high-performance devices. Covid-19 are at a heightened risk of
polymers like PEEK and Torlon are a exposure to the new corona virus. What
clear example of this. PEEK and Torlon The medical industry has been greatly promises to keep them safe is a personal
in the form of bushings, spacers and improved due to the incorporation of protective equipment, or PPE – right
seals, enhance the durability and comfort plastics across a whole range of uses now the world’s most famous. Plastics
of modern prostheses. How do they do in all fields of medicine. The medical also contribute largely for Diagnostic
this? industry has become safer as a result of kits required to rapidly identify those
the introduction of plastics. Ultimately
Excellent stiffness and strength – PEEK the patients, and that's you and me, that are infected, as well as detect those
and Torlon are inherently strong and have benefit the most from the use of plastics that aren’t – in order to free-up resource
a high modulus, so they provide superior in medicine. and increase the capacity of healthcare
load bearing ability. facilities.
Global demand for medical poly-
PEEK and Torlon can be readily mers (D L Pandya is the Editor &CEO,
modified with other materials to improve Medical Plastics Data)
Global demand for medical polymers

32 PLASTICS NEWS OCTOBER 2021 33 PLASTICS NEWS OCTOBER 2021