One of the key factors in the success of any new medical device brought to market is the ability of the design team to keep the costs of production low while also maximizing the safety of the device.
While not revolutionary, the use of plastics as a material of choice in medical product design and manufacturing continues to increase. This has increased considerably over the last two decades with new developments and discoveries of a variety of polymers that offer superior life cycles and performance over metals and other alloys that have been the go-to options in the past.
Reducing Costs
With the use of plastics in medical product design and manufacturing, medical equipment companies are able to provide equipment at a much lower cost. This has an impact on several issues, including the availability of everything from quality prosthetics to a decrease in the risk of potentially life-threatening infectious diseases.
The lowering of infection rates is linked to the use of single-use, disposable types of medical devices and equipment. As they are sterilized and packaged then only used once, there is no risk of cross-contamination between patients as when metal equipment is improperly sterilized and used again.
Corrosion and Reactivity Elimination
The body is a very hostile environment for metals and alloys. To accommodate this in the past, medical product design had to include specialized coating or finishes to reduce corrosion and reactivity of the medical device with the body fluids and tissue.
With the use of plastics, all corrosion and reactivity are eliminated without the need for additional surface treatments. Combined with the lightweight nature of the material and the extremely long life cycle, it is no wonder that plastic continues to be the ideal option for many medical devices and equipment.
