Exponent staff Dr. Kurt Breitenkamp and Dr. Steve Kurtz will be presenting at the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Conference Medical Plastics MiniTec. The event will take place February 9, 2018 in Anaheim, California.
This one-day conference will host speakers from the medical plastics industry who will discuss recent advances in materials and processing. The theme of the meeting is 'What's New in Medical Device Materials & Processing Technology?'
Dr. Breitenkamp will present, 'Assessing Potential Health Risks of Polymers Used in Wearable Devices.'
The market for wearable medical devices continues to grow based on the introduction of fast, lightweight technology with improved ability to analyze and rapidly communicate patient vital signs and, in the future, changes in sweat and blood chemistry. One common trait of wearable devices, including wearable medical devices, is long-duration contact on the skin. Since most devices are constructed using many types of synthetic polymers, there has been increased awareness of how plastic device housings, adhesives, coatings, among other materials, may impact the user's health over time during use. In this presentation, we will discuss how analytical methods and literature-based toxicological risk assessments can be used to understand the potential toxicity of extractable and leachable compounds from wearable devices in simulated end-use scenarios. We will describe common leachable compounds we've identified during our testing of wearables and potential risk mitigation strategies to employ during device development.
Dr. Kurt will present, 'A New Injection Moldable, Medical Grade HMWPE for Implant Applications.'
This presentation will present the properties of a new polyolefin medical grade, GUR® 1001, which is a linear HMWPE that can be injection molded. Properties will be compared with GUR® 1020 UHMWPE. Biocompatibility data will be presented as well as an injection molding processing guideline. It will be shown that, despite its still relatively high molecular weight, injection molding of GUR®1001 can be performed without degrading the material. Resulting properties of molded parts are comparable to compression molded parts of GUR® 1001. Furthermore, e-beam irradiation at different dosages has been performed to analyze property changes. Due to its lower molecular weight, the mechanical properties of GUR® 1001 do not reach the same level of as UHMWPE, but in certain medical applications the extraordinary wear resistance and impact strength are not required to the extent UHMW-PE grades offer.
For more information, please see the event website.
Exponent Inc. published this content on 09 February 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 08 February 2018 00:09:01 UTC.
Original documenthttps://www.exponent.com/newsevents/events/2018/02/medical-plastics-minitec
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