Medical Textiles

 

Medical Textiles | Application Field of Medical Textiles

Medical is a science which is related to the science or practice of  medicine. Textile is clothing which is deal with dyeing , printing, apparel and any other industrial uses. And the textile medical is the new field which is combination of textile technology and medical science.

Medical textile defined as “ Fiber-based products and structures used in first aid or clinical treatment of a wound or medical condition.”

David Rigby Associates, the medtech application are “ Embraces all those technical textiles used in health and hygiene application.”

History of Medical Textiles:-

The history of medical textiles began with the development of wound closures and sutures thousands of years. The origin of surgery led to the development of wound closures during 5000-3000BC. The wound closures  were particularly made of natural materials such as flax,silk,linen strips and cotton. In order to reduce tissue drag and ensure a clean wound closure procedure , the natural materials used were first lubricated in oil and wine. Mandibles  soldier ants were also used to make wound closures. In 30 AD, the roman celsus describe the use of sutures and clips, while Galen described the use of silk and catgut in 150AD. Suture material made from flax, hemp and hair were described by Indian plastic surgeon Susruta. Surgical and suture technique finally evolved in the 1800s with the development of sterilization procedures.

Material Characteristics for Medical Textiles:-

1. Non-Toxicity
2. Sterlizable
3. Strength
4. Non-carcinogenic
5. Optimum fatigue edurance
6. Flame proof
7. Elasticity
8. Durability
9. Biocompability
10. Non-allergenic Respond
11. Mechanical Properties

Application Field of Medical Textiles :-

Healthcare and medical textiles are found in a wide variety of applications.

A non-exhaustive list of these is given here:-

1. Antiseptic Wound treatment
2. Compression therapy
3. Prostheses
4. Coating and laminating
5. Hygiene products
6. Surgical
7. Protective and healthcare textiles
8. Heart treatment
9. Kidney treatment(Artificial kidney, Hallow viscose, Hallow polyester)
10. Skin grafts
11. Vascular grafts
12. Liver treatment( Artificial liver, Hallow Viscose)
13. Mechanical lung( Hallow polypropylene fiber, hallow silicone membrane)

Fibers in Medical Field :

1. Natural Fiber:- Cotton, Wool And Silk
2. Synthetic Fiber:- Polyester, Polyamide, Glass Fiber, Carbon , Polyetetrafluoroethylen , Polypropylene, PVT Fiber etc.

Classification of Medical Textiles:-  

The textiles used in medical and surgical purposes can be classified as follows:-

(A) Non-Implantable Materials:-

1. Wound-dressing, related hydrogel ,nonwoven/knitted/embroidery-based composite products.
2. Bandages:  Simple, Light support, Compression, Orthopedic bandages etc.
3. Gauges

Chart of the product and fiber type are given below:-

Product application	Fiber type	Manufacture system
1.    Wound Care
Absorbent Pad	Cotton, viscose	Non-woven
Wound Contact Layer	Silk,polyamide,Viscose	Woven,non-woven,knitted
Base Layer	Viscose, Plastic Flim	Woven, Non-woven
2.Bandages
Simple elastic /inelastic	Cotton,Viscose,Polyamide	Woven,Non-woven,Knitted
Light Support	Elastomeric yarn, Viscose	Woven, Non-woven, Knitted
Orthopedic	Cotton,viscose,polyester,poly-propylene	Woven,Non-woven
3.Plaster	Viscose,Plastic Flim,Glass etc	Woven, Non-woven,knitted
4.Gauzes	Cotton, Viscose	Woven,Non-woven
5.Lint	Cotton	Woven
6.Wadding	Cotton Linters,Viscose	Non-woven

 

(B) Implantable Materials:-

1. Vascular grafts: (fabricated by knitting, nonwoven, electrospinning)
2. Sutures:   (mono/multifilament, braided)
3. Heart valves :(knitting)

(C) Extracorporeal Devices:-

It is one kind of tissues engineered products. These are given below:-

1. Cartilage   (nonwoven, 3D weaving)
2. Skin   (nonwoven, knitting, weaving)
3. Liver   (Rapid prototyping)
4. Kidney, Urinary bladder   (nonwoven, 3D weaving)
5. Tendons, Ligaments   (mono/multi-filaments, braiding)
6. Cornea   (Electrospinning, knitting, hydrogel-based composite)

(D) Healthcare/Hygienic Products:-

1. Surgical gowns, Masks, Wipes.
2. Specially designed bed sheets for critically ill patients.
3. Antibacterial, Antiviral Textiles.
4. Insecticidal textiles for controlling infectious diseases (smart mosquito net).
5. Super absorbent polymers.
6. Dialysis membrane, Hernia mesh.
7. Adhesive, anti-adhesive patches for Post operative surgical application.
8. Soluble factor release (Drug, Hormone, Growth factor Delivery), Enzyme     (Matrix metalloprotease, proteases etc) attachment on fibrous materials.
9. Stimuli-sensitive and injectable hydro gels, phage change materials.

Production Process of Medical Textile:-

The production process of medical textile is given below:-

Fig:- Flowchart Of Medical Textile Product

List of products in all medical sectors

The medical textile market in India was at around $600 million in 2014, of which surgical dressings and surgical sutures alone accounted for about more than 50 per cent at $380. Universal health coverage scheme, 100 per cent FDI under automatic route and support to PPP model to improve availability of health care services are among the initiatives which will impact consumption .

Role of SITRA as a Centre of Excellence in Medical Textiles

Our national / International clients include textiles covering both conventional textiles, technical as well as non-textile units, manufacturing industries, traders, universities, individuals, defence, government agencies, etc. The basic services offered by CoE – Medical Textiles are as below

REFERENCES
1. Office of the textile commissioner, Baseline survey of the Technical Textile industry in      India Retrived on 28th November 2018 from https://www.technotex.gov.in/BSTT_Rev_Final_report%2018042016.pdf
2. R. Alagirusamy and A. Das, 2010, Technical textile yarns-Industrial and medical applications, Woodhead publishing limited, UK
3. Medical Textiles set to grow at 9% CAGR in India, retrieved on 28th November 2018 from https://www.indiantextilejournal.com/News.aspx?nId=oBaxRIEDzihNK+u7Yjfd/g==&NewsType=Medical-textiles-set-to-grow-at-9%-CAGR-in-India-India-Sector
4. Global Medical Textiles Market Expects Substantial Growth: https://www.bizvibe.com/blog/global-medical-textiles-market-expects-substantial-growth/ accessed on 3.12.2018
5. https://www.innovatum.com/2014/12/understanding-difference-class-class-ii-medical-devices/ accessed on 3.12.2018