CMYK

FOCUS

I
n today’s challenging times, with diseases
and viruses being rampant, safety and
Plastics continue to find more
sterility of surgical tools are prime issues use in healthcare by replacing
for the medical surgical fraternity. There is one
word that takes implementation of these two metal, glass and other traditional
vital parameters to a different dimension and
that is ‘Plastics’. materials in single use and reusable
Here we are not only talking in terms of devices. They offer strong,
Shenaz Tamhane
the affordable and convenience of packaging
in healthcare which by itself is a big industry
lightweight performance along General Manager
Toshbro Medicals Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai
and a big advantage. Glass blood bottles, with exceptional design flexibility,
glass injections, metal stents, these are now
relegated to history with the advent of the ease of fabrication, and the ability
special plastics and polymers available today.
to differentiate your products and
Healthcare plastics are divided into three
categories: high-performance plastics, ultra your brand using colour.

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Malleable and Long Lasting

Reinforced plastics have the tensile strength
to withstand long use without losing intrinsic
properties, and still they can afford the kind of
malleability and flexibility which is a property
highly needed in medical devices. Contact
lenses in ophthalmology for instance. They
have come a long way since usage of acrylic
and moving away from glass. In orthopedics,
implants and replacements have been
possible to joints and bones which were
earlier not so.

polymers and biomaterials. The diverse Quality Vision and Surgical Outcomes in
performance properties of these products Ophthalmology
combined with materials expertise allows a Dr. Ranajit Mukherjee, prominent Ophthalmic
wide variety of applications such as: Surgeon and practitioner says that plastics
l Ophthalmology and its biomaterials have made it
l Orthopedics possible for giving real quality
care to patients in the last
l Medical devices
decade. His microscope has
l Sterilisation cases and trays disposable plastic drapes
l Dental and surgical which makes his operation
instruments area surgically sterile. His
l Implantable medical Phaco system has valves
devices and reflux systems which
enable him to have a better
Compatibility with l Hemodialysis
control of his working
cleaning agents Sterilisable, Cost Effective parameterswhenheperforms
and disinfectants and Safe cataract surgery. His cassettes
is an important Plastics used in healthcare are plastic, easy to replace and
have no cytotoxicity, easy to sterilise and also, they bring down
consideration when his per surgery cost significantly, a
sensitisation, intracutaneous
selecting materials benefit he passes on to his patients.
reactivity nor any systemic
for healthcare toxicity. These materials can be And most importantly, the kind of
multi-focal IOLS (Intra-ocular implants) that
applications. sterilised using conventional sterilisation
methods, including steam,
ethylene oxide, vaporised
hydrogen peroxide and
gamma radiation. Thus they
are safe to re-use as well.
Stiff,strong unreinforced
thermoplastics are available
with exceptional hardness
and surface finish, high
compressive strength,
and excellent dimensional
stability after repeated
steam sterilisation. Such
materials are used for
critical applications where
performance parameters
are strict and demanding.
(e.g. cassettes used in Phaco
emulsification units,infusion
terminals and intraocular
lenses)

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are available today which give a far superior surgical approach to the last detail.The plastics
quality of vision to his patients, are thanks to industry reportedly experienced a sales surge
the plastics revolution in the world.He believes immediately following The Graduate film’s
in the green movement and is a conscientious release.
denizen of the world, he strongly feels that
plastics have been a boon to the ophthalmic
world.
Dr. Mukerjee is emphatic in stating that
it is not just a matter of convenience that
has been contributed to, but of serious
design that the plastics have contributed to.
Open up any machine he says, that is now a
standard tool in diagnostics or surgery in the
ophthalmology field and you will find critical
parameters being controlled by valves and
parts made of biomaterials derived from
plastics!

Radiology and High-end Diagnosis

Take up any patient file in a cancer ward or a
ward in neurosurgery treating tumours and The U.S. market
you will find loads of films giving saggital, for plastic healthcare
cross-sectional and detailed pictures of the packaging is expected to reach 3.8 billion
pathology with exact location and size/density pounds of products in 2010, which is expected
details, allowing the operating surgeons to to increase to nearly 5 billion pounds in 2015,
precisely place their incisions and plan their for a 5-year compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 5.6%.
Plastics continue to find more
use in healthcare by replacing metal,
glass and other traditional materials
in single use and reusable devices.
They offer strong, lightweight Reinforced plastics
performance along with exceptional have the tensile
design flexibility, ease of fabrication,
and the ability to differentiate your
strength to withstand
products and your brand using colour. long use without
Medical products, i.e., those used by losing intrinsic
Summary Figure
properties, and still
U.S. Healthcare packaging Market by Resin, 2009-2015 they can afford the
(Million Pounds)
kind of malleability
1,400
and flexibility which
1,200
is a property highly
1,000
needed in medical
Million lbs.

800
devices.
600
400
200
0
2009 2010 2015
Polypropylene PVC HDPE
LDPELLDPE Polyesters Polystyrene & copolymers
Other (1)
1. Includes polycarbonates, nylons, COPEs, TPUs, Silicones, acrylics etc.
Source BCC Research

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Plastics used in
healthcare have
no cytotoxicity,
sensitisation,
medical practitioners themselves, in hospitals,
intracutaneous clinics, home healthcare operations, etc.
reactivity nor any Examples are syringes, blood and intravenous
systemic toxicity. solution bags, diagnostic kits, tubing, trays and
other similar uses.
These materials
can be sterilised More Confidence
using conventional Based on biocompatibility testing as
defined by ISO 10993:1, healthcare plastics
sterilisation methods.
demonstrate no evidence of cytotoxicity,
sensitisation, intracutaneous reactivity or
acute systemic toxicity.These materials can be
sterilised using all conventional sterilisation
methods, including steam, ethylene oxide,
vapourised hydrogen peroxide and gamma
radiation.
And Finally…
Compatibility with cleaning agents and
disinfectants is an important consideration
when selecting materials for healthcare
applications. Chemical resistance
performance varies considerably among
plastics and is largely dependent on
molecular structure. Other influential factors
include:
l Type of reagent
l Reagent concentration
l Temperature
l Exposure time
l Stress on fabricated part
Stress can be caused by an external load
applied during use or by a residual internal
stress in the moulded part due to processing.
Residual stress can be minimised by adjusting
processing conditions. It’s important to
be familiar with a material’s performance
under unstressed and stressed conditions
as some reagents having no effect on
unstressed plastic can cause cracking when
stressed.

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The Economic Times Polymers

The Times of India, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd., Times Tower, 3rd Floor, Response,
Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai - 400013
Tel : 022-3098 8315 • E-mail: edit.etpolymer@timesgroup.com

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