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Materials
Medical & Health Applications of Polycarbonate
Newly born
babies are so vulnerable. Thankfully, plastic incubators
provide a protected environment to keep them safe from
infection and cold. The incubator dome is formed of a
tough, transparent plastic such as polycarbonate so
parents, doctors and nurses can watch and care for the
baby safely. Smooth polycarbonate surfaces are easy to
keep clean and can withstand disinfectants. Moulded-in
openings allow doctors and nurses to care for the baby
without letting the warmth out or infection in. The
moulded openings also allow parents to hold and feed their
babies while keeping them safe.
Life saving
modern medical treatments rely on aids such as kidney
dialysers, blood oxygenators, tube connections and many
other components. Providing patients the protection they
deserve, polycarbonate medical devices are reliable in a
wide range of environments and fracture resistant even
after repeated sterilisation. Due to its transparency,
polycarbonate is excellent for oxygenators, dialysers and
infusion units allowing easy detection of life threatening
air bubbles.
Corrective
eyeglass lenses made of polycarbonate are becoming more
and more popular due to their low weight, which makes them
comfortable to wear. Virtually unbreakable, polycarbonate
lenses protect as well as correct vision. Polycarbonate
can even be used to fashion corrective goggles for
snorkeling and scuba-diving have allowed glasses wearers
to see the wonders of the sea for the first time!
Polycarbonate
Polycarbonate fills an important niche as one of the most
popular engineering resins in the medical device market.
Bisphenol-A polycarbonate has been commercially available
since the 1960s, and its use in medical devices dates from
approximately that time. Possessing a broad range of
physical properties that enable it to replace glass or
metal in many products, polycarbonate offers an unusual
combination of strength, rigidity, and toughness that
helps prevent potentially life-threatening material
failures. In addition, it provides glasslike clarity, a
critical characteristic for clinical and diagnostic
settings in which visibility of tissues, blood, and other
fluids is required. Because biocompatibility is essential
for any material used in direct or indirect contact with
patients, polycarbonate grades are available that comply
with biocompatibility testing standards such as ISO
10993-1 and USP Class VI.
Polycarbonate can be processed with standard injection
molding equipment. It can also be blow-molded into hollow
containers or extruded into film, sheet, and thick- or
thin-walled tubing. Polycarbonate sheet and film can be
thermoformed into various complex shapes. For short-run
devices or prototypes, polycarbonate rod and slabs can be
cut, milled, and machined to the desired configuration.
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