Plastics Flow into the Medical Device Industry

摘要

A look at materials and applications in the field with EVCO Plastics' Michael Kvalo. Although the North American medical device industry continues to grow, its players are under an extraordinary number of constraints. FDA requirements top the list, of course, controlling what, how, and from what materials a device can be made. On top of that are cost pressures brought on by international competition, safety and sustainability concerns, and, finally, manufacturability issues. This is not a field for the timid. At the same time, those pressures are an incubator from which exciting new products, processes and materials are emerging. Last year, we focused on metals used in the industry ("Living in the Materials World" in our May 2013 issue).