Modern healthcare would be impossible without plastics medical
products we tend to take for granted: disposable syringes, intravenous
blood bags and heart valves, etc. Plastics packaging is particularly
suitable for medical applications, thanks to their exceptional barrier
properties, light weight, low cost, durability, transparency and
compatibility with other materials.
People are living
better, longer and have increasingly fulfilling lives. Thanks
to the endless versatility of modern plastics, medical breakthroughs
considered unthinkable 50 years ago are now regarded as
commonplace.
Some applications
| Unblocking blood vessels: In
the latest heart surgery, thin tubes (catheters) are used to unblock
blood vessels, while deposits obstructing them can be broken
down with a tiny spiral-shaped implant - a vessel support.
Positioned in the treated artery, it is made of a
plastic developed specifically for the medical field
and charged with active substances.
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Prosthesis: Plastics are now
being used as orthopaedic devices, where they align, support
or correct deformities. they can even improve the function of
movable parts of the body or replace a body part, taking over its main
function. Synthetic material also plays a vital role for diseased
arteries that cannot be helped via vessel support. An affected section
of the aorta is removed and the gap is bridged by a flexible plastic
prosthesis. Thanks to this, the body's lifeline becomes fully
functional again. |
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Artificial corneas: Eye
injuries or chronic inflammations, for example corneal erosion, can
impair sight, and if a transplant has little chance of success, a
prosthesis is the only hope. Artificial corneas made from special
silicone are now available for treatment. Only 0.3 to 0.5 millimetres
thick, highly transparent, flexible and made
of bio-mechanics similar to a natural cornea, it can restore
clear vision again. |
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Hearing aids: People with
severely impaired hearing can now have a plastics implant that brings
sound back in thier hears. This implant consists of numerous components -
a microphone, a transmission device connected to a micro-computer worn
on the body, a stimulator and an electrode carrier with 16 electrodes
for 16 different frequency ranges. As it transforms acoustic impulses
into electrical ones, it bypasses the damaged cells and stimulates the
auditory nerve directly. |
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Plastics pill capsules
release exactly the right dosage of its active ingredients
at the right time. The tartaric acid-based polymer gradually breaks
down, slowly releasing the active ingredients over a longer period of
time. These tailor-made pharmaceuticals help to avoid having to
frequently take large quantities of pills.
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