Mark Crawford, Contributing Writer04.03.17
Everybody wants tubing—it’s a strong and steady business, thanks to increased demand for minimally invasive surgery procedures and the use of catheters as delivery systems (for example, ablation and micro implants). Medical device manufacturers (MDMs) and their tubing partners continue to advance tubing functionality, such as the number of lumens, deflection capability, and steerability. According to Markets and Markets, a research firm, the global medical tubing market is expected to grow from $3.73 billion (2015) to $5.85 billion by 2021.1
Hundreds of uses exist for medical tubing, each one calling for highly specific physical characteristics. As devices get smaller and more complex, MDMs rely on a greater variety of shapes and sizes of tubing. Device designers especially focus on increased functional capability, such as lumens with non-symmetric cross sections, surface modifications, and the integration of active additives, including antimicrobial agents or drugs. Raw materials are constantly being engineered in new ways to enhance mechanical and biologic characteristics. Popular requests for tubing are custom bump tubing, co-extrusions, micro-extrusions, multi-lumen tubing, profile extrusions, braid-reinforced extrusions, and coated wires. Outside diameters (OD) for tubing can range from about 0.004 inches to 0.45 inches (0.1 mm to 10 mm) or more, with multi-lumen extrusions as small as 0.012 inches (0.305 mm).
Increased demand for smaller diameters, thinner walls, and more complex lumens constantly push the limits of existing extrusion and production technology. One of the greatest design challenges tubing manufacturers face is the request for a smaller-diameter tube that will accept a greater number of lumens packed inside—for example, six lumens in a 3 Fr catheter tube. In response to these exacting design demands, tubing extruders must find new, often proprietary ways to make tubing products. It comes down to seeing how far science can go—and then finding ways to push science a little further.
“Tubing is one of the more exciting and faster-growing areas in the medical device industry,” said Steven Burdorf, president of Catheter & Medical Design Inc., a St. Paul, Minn.-based provider of cardiovascular, neurosurgical, and laparoscopic tubing. “The decision-making and detailed knowledge required to meet evolving customer expectations is challenging and rewarding. As medical device applications expand, the properties of the tubing such as flexibility, lubricity, clarity, kink resistance, and the ability to hold tight tolerances are all critical for determining the ideal design for a particular medical application.”
To read the full version of this article, access it in the Medtech Materials eBook where it appears in its entirety along with other fantastic and useful articles on related topics, available now. Click here to access the eBook.
Hundreds of uses exist for medical tubing, each one calling for highly specific physical characteristics. As devices get smaller and more complex, MDMs rely on a greater variety of shapes and sizes of tubing. Device designers especially focus on increased functional capability, such as lumens with non-symmetric cross sections, surface modifications, and the integration of active additives, including antimicrobial agents or drugs. Raw materials are constantly being engineered in new ways to enhance mechanical and biologic characteristics. Popular requests for tubing are custom bump tubing, co-extrusions, micro-extrusions, multi-lumen tubing, profile extrusions, braid-reinforced extrusions, and coated wires. Outside diameters (OD) for tubing can range from about 0.004 inches to 0.45 inches (0.1 mm to 10 mm) or more, with multi-lumen extrusions as small as 0.012 inches (0.305 mm).
Increased demand for smaller diameters, thinner walls, and more complex lumens constantly push the limits of existing extrusion and production technology. One of the greatest design challenges tubing manufacturers face is the request for a smaller-diameter tube that will accept a greater number of lumens packed inside—for example, six lumens in a 3 Fr catheter tube. In response to these exacting design demands, tubing extruders must find new, often proprietary ways to make tubing products. It comes down to seeing how far science can go—and then finding ways to push science a little further.
“Tubing is one of the more exciting and faster-growing areas in the medical device industry,” said Steven Burdorf, president of Catheter & Medical Design Inc., a St. Paul, Minn.-based provider of cardiovascular, neurosurgical, and laparoscopic tubing. “The decision-making and detailed knowledge required to meet evolving customer expectations is challenging and rewarding. As medical device applications expand, the properties of the tubing such as flexibility, lubricity, clarity, kink resistance, and the ability to hold tight tolerances are all critical for determining the ideal design for a particular medical application.”
To read the full version of this article, access it in the Medtech Materials eBook where it appears in its entirety along with other fantastic and useful articles on related topics, available now. Click here to access the eBook.
