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Medical Polymeric Materials and Components:
“Innovations & Developments”

Shri Kishore Khanna Managing Director, Romsons Group of Companies, Agra and Joint Coordinator, Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMed)

Some Of The Recent Medical Devices, Made By Different Polymeric Materials

	Plastic Heart : A total artificial heart made by High performance (HPP) polymer which can extend the lives of heart failure patients while they’re waiting for transplant. The plastic heart replaces the original heart (replaces both Ventricles and the four heart valves ) adding years to the lives of loved ones.
	Plastic Foam: It is a polyurethane plastic which is used to stabilize trauma patients with serious injuries. The foam expands inside the body cavity, applying pressure to the wound and confirming around the injured tissue, greatly slowing blood loss to improve the chances of survival.
	Painless Plastic Injections: Needle injections can be painful, but easier ways to deliver medications are underway. One currently under development is a tiny patch made of many plastics “microneedles” that dissolve once inserted into the skin, releasing the drug at the same time. Made by cellulose bio polymer.
	Bacteria Resistant Catheters : Urinary Catheters are used in almost 15–25% of hospitalized patients and those patients often contact Urinary tract infections after the catheters have been inside the body for more than 2~3 days. In order to prevent UTIs antimicrobial coating (non stick polymer coating is done to prevent the bacterial growth.
	Liquid Bandages : These are made of various starch and protein bio plastics and solvent such as water or alcohol. When applied to the wound, the solvent evaporates, leaving a thin plastic barrier designed to keep out the dirt and debris and to reduce pain by covering nerve endings. As the wound heals, the plastic of liquid bandage sloughs off with the old skin cells.
	Central Venous Catheter (CVC): A great innovation of medical science, soft tube put in a vein that leads to your heart. CVC may be placed for urgent hemodialysis and also used for dialysis, an arteriovenous (AV) fistula. Made by HPP Plastic (high performance plastics).
	Epidural Catheter : The catheter allows access to the epidural space to inject medication such as local anesthetics for relief of pain. Temporary epidural catheters are used for temporary treatment of painful conditions that require pain control made by high performance synthetic polymer.
	3D Printing Use For Artificial Plastic Organ : We can 3D print toys, tools, cars, and more. While 3D printed human body parts aren’t quite here yet, they’re closer than you may think. Researchers are working on printing various body parts such as kidneys, skin, bones, cartilage, tissues, blood vessels, and more made from diverse cell types while using plastics to help keep the part’s structure in shape. And today, 3D printed plastic body parts models are used as research and practice for complex, tough surgeries.
	Plastic Heart Stent : Open the heart blockage and dispenses the medication and then dissolves in body, made by poly glycerol bio polymer.

Inflatable Implant – Heart surgeons often face a frustrating problem. Sometimes the sickest patients who need surgery have been so weakened by their conditions that surgery becomes too risky, but a new inflatable device made of poly ether urea urethanes elastomer helps in improving the odds. After the device is implanted doctors can inflate or deflate at as needed to control excess blood flow and relieve pressure on the heart. This technique can give a heart the chance to recover enough to withstand surgery.

Conclusion:
In the end I would like to conclude by saying that Post Covid 19 life is expected to change significantly and polymers are going to be the key in revolutionizing the changes to daily life. The personal protection gears are in high demand for healthcare workers, 3-layer mask and N95 mask are also in huge demand in today’s scenario for general public’s personal protection. We also find Face Shield & Protective Goggles for use in hospitals and industries. All this is going to become a part of our day to day life.