Medical Plastics; Used to Manufacture a Variety of Medical Devices and Equipment

Medical Plastics

Medical Plastics are often used in thin tubes, intravenous blood bags, disposable syringes, or in the huge casing of an open MRI system. An open MRI is an MRI machine that is configured differently, mostly for patient comfort. Medical plastics are often used to manufacture a variety of medical devices to make health care less painful and simpler. Medical plastics are polymeric materials that can be molded into any shape and are generally made from thermoplastic materials. They are widely used to manufacture medical devices and equipment.

Over the years, Medical Plastics have played a dramatically important role in modern medicine. Compared to glass, ceramics, and metals, medical-grade plastics have superior design flexibility, and, thus can be processed into innumerable shapes, sizes, colors, and thicknesses. Moreover, their properties can be tailored to meet a broad spectrum of biochemical, chemical, mechanical, and physical requirements. These plastics are temperature and chemical-resistant. Polyethylene, polypropylene, and polycarbonate are some of the majorly used medical-grade plastics.

Moreover, medical-grade plastics are bio-compatible and light in weight, and their production costs are comparatively minimal. Thus, they are used as alternatives for titanium/stainless steel in medical devices. Surgical instruments, implants, dental tools, catheters and syringes, drug delivery devices, diagnostic instruments, and medical bags are the main applications of medical-grade plastics. Thermoplastic materials are used to manufacture medical plastic products or to form custom polymers to meet specific medical device applications.

Medical Plastics are also used to manufacture products for in vitro diagnostics and primary packaging for pharmaceuticals to preserve and contain drugs to avoid contamination. Thus, there is an increasing demand for medical-grade plastics around the world. For example, in Jan 2019, BMP Medical opened a new medical-grade plastics manufacturing facility located in Sterling, Massachusetts, U.S., to meet the increasing demand, as the U.S. is one of the major consumers of medical devices that include medical-grade plastics.