Although the process of selecting the right polymer for new medical devices has not changed very much in the last 10 to 15 years, the degree of complication seems to have grown exponentially. The variety of specially designed materials, the number of suppliers, some under the same name or others with a new corporate moniker, and the availability of reference databases puts a glut of information into the hands of the design engineers. But how does one successfully navigate through this information and decide on the one material that is best for their particular application. It is much more difficult to find live technical support from either suppliers or from database providers. With staff reductions and department consolidations, many companies have also lost experts from their library of specialists that in the past have led the selection of the optimum polymer for new applications. No longer do companies have the historical databank of material expertise or on-staff resources for guiding new project efforts. The level of experience in many companies is down while the breadth of knowledge is much more focused. This coupled with the evolution of far more complicated devices that often combine advances in multiple new technologies such as conductive polymers, shape memory materials, drug eluting devices and polymers that dissolve in the body all complicate the process of selecting the right polymer for the application. Medical devices designers and engineers are tasked with selecting just the right polymer for their devices; and this requires keeping in mind all the various requirements that must be satisfied including functional requirements, chemical and biological requirements and manufacturing, assembly and sterilization. Collectively, results of the evaluation of the materials used in the construction of medical device and the function of the devices together contribute to what many refer to as the biocompatibility of the device.
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