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Polymers For Catheter
Tubings
Evolution Of Polymers As Catheter Tubing Materials
Plastic materials have monopolised the market for
catheters and medical tubing since the 1940s, when they
were first introduced and commercialised. PVC was the
first synthetic plastic to be used successfully for
medical tubing, and it quickly gained popularity.
Various other polymers, such as PE, PP, silicone, and PU,
were introduced for the segment and adapted for specific
use cases over the following decades.
The industry is gradually shifting towards better
processible and biocompatible materials while overcoming
the industry's current challenges.
Many suppliers are launching plasticiser-free PVC
alternatives to tackle the issue. For example, Arkema
markets its PEBAX MED, a plasticiser-free Block PEBA
(polyether block amide) for the catheter market,
claiming exceptional flexibility aided with toughness.
Suppliers have also launched several new products
involving materials such as PEI (Polyetherimide), PI
(Polyimide), Polysulfones and PEEK to address issues
such as yellowing/oxidation to repeated sterilisation,
better dimensional tolerances to precision extrusion,
chemical resistance, and so on.
Emerging Market Trends
The catheter and tubing market can be classified based
on the technicalities of usage and is then further
divided into distinct anatomical application areas, each
with its own set of property criteria. In general,
medical tubing is used in fluid transfer locations such
as IV drips, ventilators, and so on that does not come
in contact with the patient's body or internal fluids.
Catheters, on the other hand, are typically implanted
into bodily cavities or convey internal fluids,
necessitating great biocompatibility when compared to
regular medical tubing.
With the growing healthcare industry, including all
aspects of diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy, polymer
material demand is expected to grow at a compounded pace
of 4-5% over the next five years. Microcatheters, a
subclass of therapeutic catheters, are gaining
popularity and growing at twice the rate of the overall
market.
There are two major reasons for this soaring market
penetration of microcatheters:
The rapid rise in minimally invasive cardio-vascular
surgery, including procedures for infants that
necessitate smaller and specifically designed micro
tubes that can be inserted into small, delicate blood
vessels with minimal trauma to the surrounding tissue.
The micro tubes are being used in areas other than
cardiovascular procedures, such as neurovascular,
interventional radiology, oncology, and more.
This increase in demand presents a great opportunity for
high performance polymers in the micro catheters market,
as they provide the tight tolerances required to extrude
thin-walled structures, as well as the right mix of
desired flexibility and compression resistance, all with
no use of harmful plasticisers, which is a major source
of impurity concern.
Although PVC, Silicone, PU, etc., currently have high
volumetric consumption, the market is expected to shift
toward higher use of Polysulfone, which has low concerns
about chemical leaching and is also highly suitable for
multiple sterilisation cycles.
High performance PEEK is also becoming more popular,
particularly in applications such as ablation devices,
where high heat resistance and strength are required but
cost is not a major factor. The market for
microcatheters is expected to grow at an 8- 10% CAGR
over the next five years, with a growing shift toward
Polysulfone, PEEK, and a few others such as Polyamide
and PEI.
Fluoropolymers (Fps)
Fluoropolymers have been used in the medical tubing and
catheter markets for decades in a variety of anatomical
areas. They currently account for a sizable demand of
the catheter and tubing market and are used in
interventional cardiology, urology, gastroenterology,
and other medical fields.
However, the primary application of Fluoropolymers is in
catheters designed for minimally invasive procedures and
microcatheters. FPs are also sometimes regarded as the
workhorse material of minimally invasive medical
devices. The application of FPs in the segment is aided
by lubricity/non-stick, chemical resistance, and
coefficient of friction.
The Future
Undoubtedly, the market is expected to shift toward high
performance polymers in specific and emerging
application areas. However, PVC, the most often used
material in the industry, is expected to maintain its
demand with no significant decline in consumption.
Although, the discussion over its limitations has raged
on for the past two decades, demand has remained strong
in the majority of general application areas.
The actual impact of chemical leaching on the patient or
to the outcome of the medical procedure is more
speculative and less concrete. As a result, in most
circumstances, the preference leans towards its
advantages such as low cost and ease of processing.
(Ref : Based on Report By Sruthi Chirra, consultant
specialty chemicals, ChemBizR
https://www.medicalplasticsnews.com/news/latest-medicalplastics-news/the-use-of-plastic-in-catheters-and-medicaltubing/
19 SEPTEMBER 2023). |
