With wearable technology sales on the rise, healthcare professionals are demanding smaller, less invading portable medical devices. This trend is known as “Miniaturization“. In this article we’ll talk about the stages of medical device development, FMS, and medical packaging.
When designing a new medical device, many aspects must be considered. From suitable material, cost or aesthetics factors to regulatory compliance and biocompatibility. Making sure all aspects are considered can be challenging, which can lead to a standstill at the project concept and design stages, if product performance fails to meet certain specifications. Medical device designers & manufacturers must be aware of all the newest materials available, as well as their pros and cons.
To advance even further the Miniaturization processes, design engineers are incorporating new materials into the designs of new medical devices. For example, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are replacing metals, glass, and other materials with precision plastic.
Why?
First of all, because of its flexibility. Whether you manufacture disposable or reusable medical devices, many components must bend and flex in order to be used on or near a patient’s body. Well-known examples for flexible medical devices and components include catheters, intravenous and drug infusion sets. For such components, the substrates must be malleable, elastic, and often torsion resistant.
Plastic is in high demand for many reasons. It’s light, resistant and can be colorful. The plastic inherent insulating properties mean it can withstand shock, moisture, and vibration well. These features are helping to sterilize or disinfect medical devices for the purpose of shipping them to health care facilities around the world.
Plastics are also attractive in the medical devices niche because they can be molded at high velocity and thus allowing mass production . High-speed molding is fast and can be less expensive than alternative production processes.
