Plastics have been instrumental in advancing medical technology for many decades, but, to my mind, a seminal moment happened during WW II, when plastic replaced glass in IV bags on the battlefield and proved its superiority, particularly when it comes to breakage. Since then, polymers have been on a roll in medical technology. From single-use devices that prevent patient infections to resorbable implants that eliminate having to undergo a second surgical procedure to remove the devices, plastics have revolutionized healthcare practices, improving patient outcomes and quality of life.

A daylong conference track at Plastec Minneapolis is devoted to current and emerging medical plastics technology, bringing together experts from industry and academe to share insights on everything from micromolding to biostability in implants.

Plastec Minneapolis is part of the Advanced Manufacturing Minneapolis event, along with co-locates MD&M, ATX, MinnPack, and D&M, at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Oct. 16 and 17, 2024. The event is organized by Informa Markets – Engineering, which also produces PlasticsToday.

Here are capsule summaries of some of the key sessions and speakers at the medical plastics conference track, which takes place on Oct. 16 in room 102F.

Trends in Medical Polymers, 9 a.m.

Industry experts from the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Medical Plastics Division will discuss growth drivers and trends in medical polymers, including new resins, advanced molding methods, sustainability, personalized medicine, and regulatory shifts. Rob Klein, senior principal materials engineer at Atricure, and Chris Lyons, managing scientist at Exponent, are scheduled to speak. They will be immediately followed by Arthur Erdman, founding director of the Bakken Medical Devices Center, at 9:30 a.m. Named for Earl Bakken, the founder of Medtronic, the center follows his lead in exploring new avenues for medtech innovation through material development and 3D printing. Erdman will discuss several case studies illustrating the role polymers play in advancing medical technology.

Biodegradable and Implantable Elastomers, 11 a.m.

Wei Shen, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, will present a class of thermoplastic elastomers that exhibit elastomeric properties in both wet and dry environments. The elastomers can be processed via 3D printing, extrusion, and hot-press processing at 60°C. The collective elastomeric, biodegradable, biocompatible, and thermoplastic properties make these materials highly valuable for biomedical applications.

How Polymer Micro Rheology Influences Medical Device Microstructure, 11:30 a.m.

In micromolding, plastics can reach a point where shear thinning behavior is stretched to its limits. In this talk, Patrick Haney, R&D engineer at MTD Micro Molding, will explore the typical flow behavior of plastics and discuss the intriguing phenomena that arise under extreme shear conditions. He will touch on the ramifications of these changes on the final micromolded product, including the effects on final part microstructure as it applies to device application. 

Low-friction Compounds for Medical Devices, noon

To reduce friction in products made from thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), lubricious coatings can be applied to the devices or the TPEs can be compounded with specialty additives. Shruba Manna , senior development engineer at compounder Foster Corp., will explain the low-friction technolgies available on the market along with the effect of additives on a polymer’s properties and processability.

Evaluating Fatigue and Creep Performance of Polymers for Medical Devices, 3:15 p.m.

Durable medical devices typically are expected to function for up to 10 years or more under a combination of mechanical and/or thermal loads. Designing and analyzing medical devices that incorporate polymeric components, therefore, requires a thorough understanding of the material properties that influence creep and fatigue performance, as well as test and analysis methods for evaluating device performance. In this session, Paul Briant, practice director and principal engineer at Exponent, will review polymer properties that affect creep and fatigue, test methods for evaluating long-term creep and fatigue, and simulation methods of polymer performance under thermal and mechanical loads.

Ensuring Material Biostability for Chronically Implanted Medical Devices, 3:45 p.m.

The recently qualified medical device development tool (MDDT) provides an accelerated test methodology to address the performance of new materials at long human implant times. Not only does careful use of accelerated testing reduce dependency on preclinical models, the MDDT increases certainty in predictions of a new material’s bio-durability. Kimberly Chaffin, vice president corporate technologist at Medtronic, will review predictive accelerated testing conducted for a series of commonly implanted medical device polymers, where the accelerated predictions are validated with up to 20 years of real-time human implant data.

For a complete list of sessions in the medical polymers track, go to the event website.