Rubber Journal Asia Medical Devices
Material innovations enable medical device breakthroughs Rubber materials like silicones are aiding
implants, according to a whitepaper published by US-based medical silicone components & assemblies manufac turing c o mp any Pr oMed. C o nduc tiv e s ilic o ne rub b e r has gain ed tr action in the automotive, oil and gas, and electrical and e le c tro nic s s e c to rs , s ays the Minn esotahe adquarte re d firm that has als o p ub lish ed a whitepaper on electrically conductive silicone rub b e r.
in the improvement of medical devices for
the healthcare sector, says Angelica Buan in this report.
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o d ern me d i c a l d e v i ce s a i d i n e a r l y d e te c tio n a n d t r e a t m e n t o f d i s e a s e s , a s w e l l a s help in i mprov i n g t h e q u a l i t y o f l i fe o f p a t i e n t s w ith disa b i l i t i e s . T h i s i n c r e a s i n g a d o p t i o n o f m edical dev i c e s i n t h e h e a l t h c a r e s y s t e m i s l e a d i n g to fur t h e r ma rke t g r o w t h , w h i c h L u c in te l, i n its med i c a l d e v i c e m a r k e t r e p o r t , p r e d i c t e d t o reach nea rl y h a l f a t ri l l i o n d o l l a r s b y 2 0 2 3 , g r o wing at a CAGR o f 4 . 5 % f r o m 2 0 1 8 . L u c i n t e l a d d s t h a t t h e m a j o r d r i v e r s f o r the gro w t h o f t h i s m a r k e t a r e t h e h i g h e r r a t e s of hea l t h c a r e e x p e n d i t u r e , t e c h n o l o g i c a l d e v elopment, ag e i n g p op u l a t i o n a n d ch r o n i c d i s e a s e s . F o c u s i n o b t ai n i n g t h e h i g h e s t l e v e l s o f comfort, safe t y a n d p erf o r m a n ce o f m e d i c a l d e v i ce s is lead i n g t o m o r e i m p r o v e m e n t s i n t h e d e s i gn and fun c t i o n a l i t y o f t h e d e v i c e s ; a n d m a t e r i a l s play a key ro l e i n e n a bli n g t h i s o b j e c t i v e .
Conductive silicone rubber extends application in medical devices
Now, the material, owing to its lightweight, fle xib ility, durab ility and high the rmal and electr ical c o nduc tanc e , is like w is e finding ap p lication s in th e medical devices segment. ProMed said that it has partnered with several companies exp erimenting with conductive silicone medical products in the R&D stage. Electrically conductive silicones have been used in auto mo tiv e and indus trial ap p lic ation s such as radio fre que nc y s hie lding and s e aling. U ntil now, the us e in me dic al de v ic e s has lo ng b een hamper ed by the purity, cost, and processing challenges of the tw o traditio nal additiv e s us e d to make silicon e electrically conductive, namely carbon black and silver coated glass spheres. Due to the p urity, s ize and ro b us tness of car bon nanotubes, its use as an additive enables silicone raw material manufacturers to offer electrically conductive silicones that are capable of meeting s o me o f the b as ic mate rial te s ting re quir ements (including USP Class VI) for medical devices. Mo re o v e r, the y are p ric e c o mp e titiv e with silver coated microspheres, and as durable and stable in suspension as carbon black, while being much more pure, thus enabling innovative conductive medical device applications, ProMed furthered.
Bioc omp a t i b l e / e le ctr ic a lly co n d u c tiv e silic ones Med i c a l i m p l a n ts a r e m a n - m a d e d e v i c e s o r tissues t hat a re p l a c e d i n s i d e o r o n t h e s u r fa ce o f the b o dy to r e p l a c e m i s s i n g o r d a m a g e d p a r t o f t h e body as in p ro st h e t i c s; or t o d e l i v e r m e d i c a t i o n , m onito r bod y f u n c t i o n s , o r p r o v i d e s u p p o r t t o o r g ans and tiss u e s . D ri v e n by ri sin g i n ci d e n ce o f ch r o n i c d is e as e s and a d v a n c e m e n t s i n t e c h n o l o g i e s a n d s u rgical out c o m e s , t h e g l o b a l m a r k e t f o r m e d i c a l i mplants is i n c l i n e d t o g r o w a t a C A G R o f 7 % b e t w een 2017 t o 2 0 2 3 , a s p ro j e c t e d b y C o o k e d R e se a r c h R epor ts . M a t e ri a l s u se d fo r i m p l a n t s v a r y a n d s ho uld com p l y w i t h s t r i n g e n t m a t e r i a l s s t a n d a r d . Bio c o m p a t i b i l i t y i s a v i t a l c r i t e r i o n f o r i m plantable mat e r i a l s , w h i c h m e d i c a l g r a d e s i l i c o n e i s suitable for. S i l i c o n e r u b b e r h a s b e e n t h e m a t e r i a l o f choice for i m p l a n t a b l e d e v i c e s , o w i n g t o i t s h i g h chemical iner t n e s s , d u r a b i l i t y , t e n s i l e s t r e n g t h , a v a ilability in a w i d e r a n g e o f d u r o m e t e r s , w i d e t e m p erature ran g e , a n d e a s e o f m o u l d i n g b y m a n y m e t hods has m a d e t h e m a t e r i a l a m a i n s t a y o f m e d i cal dev i c e s o f a l l t y p e s , b u t e s p e c i a l l y f o r l o n g-term
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