Choosing The Right Polymer For Your Medical Device Component

Choosing the right polymer for your medical device component?

Choosing the right polymer can determine the durability, use, expense involved and other key factors that will go into producing a medical device.  What is the standard decision process a device manufacturer follows to determine which compound is the best for the application? Flexan’s process asks key questions to determine the right outcome, so let’s take a closer look.

If you have questions or would like to start the discussion with us now, contact Flexan for a quote today.

What is your medical device application?

Let’s start with the first series of questions we’ll need to ask and discuss with you. What is the intended application for the device you are creating? There are three areas in particular we need to know.

Implantable devices

Will the device be something implanted within a patient’s body? There are very crucial parameters that go into creating components or a full device meant to be implanted. Only certain polymers are approved for use within the human body. Will the device need to be implanted for less than 29 days or more than 29 days? Will it need to be a permanent implant? These questions determine the steps down the road.

Non-Implantable Devices

If the device is not meant to be implanted, the compound landscape changes and might even expand. These devices may come into contact with the skin, but are not used within the body.

Non-Body Contact

If your medical device is not meant to be in contact with a patient at all, again, the nature and types of materials used changes.