Covestro to showcase high-performance materials for medical applications at MD&M West 2016

With people living longer and leading more-active lives, demands placed on medical equipment have grown. The medical wearable electronics market has evolved to provide patients with a more comfortable experience, while enabling them to be mobile and limit time spent in the hospital for treatment and maintenance.

As technology and design of medical wearable electronics advances, the materials used to make the devices need to keep pace. Covestro LLC is there to meet this need. During Medical Device & Manufacturing (MD&M) West 2016 taking place Feb. 9-11 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, Covestro will highlight some of its outstanding materials for the medical market and feature applications incorporating them.

Wearables are just one facet of the medical industry that utilizes Covestro’s materials. Manufacturers trust Covestro polycarbonates, polycarbonate blends, polyurethanes, films and raw materials to help satisfy critical design, manufacturing and end-use performance parameters for a variety of medical device and health care applications.

Covestro will highlight a variety of its robust product portfolio of high-performance materials for demanding medical applications at MD&M West.

• Makroblend^® M525 polycarbonate/polyester (PC+polyester) blend resin: This material grade is tailored for use in wearable medical devices, providing durability, chemical resistance and satisfying the testing requirements of ISO 10993-5 (Cytotoxicity) and ISO 10993-10 (Irritation and Sensitization) for biocompatibility.
• Makroblend^® EL4000 PC+polyester blend resin: Manufacturers searching for a material for medical device and equipment housings and enclosures need look no further. Makroblend^® EL4000 PC+polyester blend resin helps protect the electronic and electromechanical components in clinical settings, making it an ideal material for these types of applications. Additionally, this grade offers a high level of chemical resistance against the aggressive disinfectants often used to combat hospital acquired infections.
• APEC® high-heat polycarbonate: The high-heat curing of APEC^® polycarbonate leads to a shorter cycle time and potentially lower total part cost. Another attractive attribute is that, APEC^® high-heat polycarbonate can be overmolded with liquid silicone rubber. Covestro’s material featuring the overmolding process can be used for face masks.
• Baymedix^® raw materials: The Baymedix^® product line includes specially designed raw materials that provide durability, flexibility and breathability to medical films. The raw materials for medical films can be used for laminates, scope covers, as well as for medical wearables and advanced wound care. Wound dressings made from foams, adhesives and films manufactured from Baymedix^® materials are breathable, exhibit a high absorption capacity, outstanding retention and provide low-trauma skin adhesion.
• Baymedix^® FP505 prepolymer: During the show, Covestro will debut its new Baymedix^® FP505 prepolymer, which creates non-yellowing aliphatic foams with excellent fluid absorption and retention properties key for wound moisture management.
• Platilon^® and Dureflex^® films: These films have an ideal combination of durability, abrasion resistance and flexibility. When used in wound dressings, the films help to protect wounds while providing high breathability, which can accelerate the healing process and add to patient comfort. Wound dressing applications and surgical drapes utilizing the films have the unique ability to conform to a patient’s body shape. The outstanding properties of Platilon^® and Dureflex^® films make them a great choice for medical wearables, particularly patches used to house diagnostic-related devices.

Applications utilizing these high-performance medical materials from Covestro will be on display in booth #2021. Medical OEMs and product designers can view the applications, previewed below, to get inspiration for their latest health care products.

Breathe Technologies selected injection-molded Makrolon^® 2858 polycarbonate for the air/oxygen path components and patient interface of its Breathe NIOV System. The one-pound, non-invasive mechanical ventilator is suitable for use in home and institutional settings. The Breathe NIOV System and other medical applications benefit from the material’s biocompatibility as determined by many ISO 10993-1 test requirements, as well as its ability to be ETO and steam sterilized at 121 C.

The compatibility with sterilization modalities, ability to meet care and handling requirements, durability in transport and global availability of Makrolon^® polycarbonate met Caltorque Medical Products’ needs. The company used Makrolon^® polycarbonate to form the handles of its TorqueSafe instruments, which are designed for trauma, reconstruction, small bone, cranio maxillofacial fixation, spine and extremity procedures.

Another innovative application that will be on display is Safepole’s ground-breaking IV pole. Bayblend^® FR3010 polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC/ABS) resin blend provides strength, chemical resistance and impact resistance for several of Safepole’s distinctive elements, including an oxygen tank holder, a large utility basket with an easy-to-grip handlebar, a router to organize IV tubes, brackets to mount a hospital-grade power strip, and a dome that covers the wheels to help eliminate tripping and prevent tubes from entangling in the wheels.

The Baymedix^® product line will also appear in a variety of  clinical applications. An endoscope cover made with a film incorporating Baymedix^® CD102 raw materials will be on display, as will test tubes dip-coated with film made out of the same Baymedix^® raw material grade. And finally, bandages incorporating adhesives or films made from Baymedix^® raw materials will demonstrate how the material’s outstanding properties benefit advanced wound care applications.

Attendees of MD&M West are invited to Covestro’s booth (#2021) to speak with experts and learn more about these applications and Covestro’s advanced material solutions for the medical market.