Cover Story

Medical Plastics Tubing: Applications, Quality, & Extrusion Process Challenges

The focus for this issue is the most dynamic area in the medical device sector - medical tubing and extrusion technology. The medical device industry contributes significantly to the healthcare industry as well as the patients in improving the quality of healthcare services by way of reducing procedure and hospitalization times, and patients’ trauma, while improving outcomes. This is possible because of advancements offered by medical tube manufacturers by way of more properties, more material options as well as more precise process control which in turn results in improved medical device designs. A good understanding of polymer science and behaviour of polymer materials is very important in order to get high quality medical tunings. A very detailed overview on various techno-commercial aspects related to medical tubing and extrusion technology is covered in this issue.

Medical Tubing and Extrusion Technology

The medical tubing segment comprises the most dynamic area in the medical device landscape. The market of plastic Tubing is expecting significant growth due to changing global demographics and the growth of medical procedures such as minimally invasive surgeries.

As per “Markets & Markets” , the global Medical Tubing market was valued at US $ 4.9 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach US $ 7.9 billion by 2026 , growing at a CAGR 10 % .

Primary drivers of the global market for medical tubing are rapidly increasing geriatric populations, the increasing demand for medical devices that incorporate tubing, the growing access to health care around the globe, which carries with it a market for medical devices and the tubing associated with those devices and minimally invasive surgeries.

Critical Applications

Plastic tubing plays a pivotal role in many advanced medical procedures, such as vascular catheters, conduits for acquiring biopsy samples, and holders for stents being implanted into heart arteries. Minimally invasive techniques such as angioplasty drove the need for tubing with small diameters and thinwalls, temperature control became critical for maintaining tight dimensional tolerances. Other Examples of tubing applications include high-pressure catheter tubing, stent-delivery catheters, and balloon tubing used in medical balloons, especially stent delivery balloons. Examples of markets that rely heavily on tubing technology include the
following:

• Neurovascular (e.g., treatment of stroke).
• Cardiovascular (e.g., angioplasty, stenting, cardiac ablation, and mitral valve repair).
• Peripheral interventions (e.g., stent grafts, venous therapy).
• Endoscopic and renal denervation applications
• Implants (e.g, inferior vena cava filter, and prosthetics valves).

Material, Process & Quality Requirements For High-Quality Extruded Tubing

A good understanding of polymer science and the behavior of polymer materials is extremely important for achieving high quality extruded tubing. Polymer material suitable for medical tubing should have: Inertness to body tissues and fluids, Flexibility, Resistance to sterilization conditions, Low extraction, Clarity and Low cost for high volume applications.

PVC, with the advantages of combination of performance and costs is the most widely used plastic medical tubing material. Polyethylene is the second largest material in medical tubing based on volumes consumed. TPE, polyamide, silicone, fluoropolymer and PEEK also find specialized niches in tubing systems. PP and PC are also used as medical tubing materials.

The following table highlights commonly used medical polymers and their respective major applications.

Medical Tubing And Extrusion Technology

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