Fibers Used for Medical and Health Care Applications
Authors: Taha Bin Yahya
Maaz Wasim Khan
Akram Ali
National Textile University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Email: tahabinyahya@gmail.com
Fibers for Medical and Health Care:
Medical textile products comprise textile materials used in hygiene, health and personal care as well as surgical applications. The Medtech products are available in all forms such as woven, knitted and non-woven based on the area of application. Medtech needs the basic textile properties like softness and lightness, flexibility, absorption, filtering, etc.
Textiles materials that are used in medical applications include fibers, yarns, fabrics and composites. Synthetic fiber is being used largely in manufacturing these products. Depending upon the application, the major requirements of medical textiles are absorbency, tenacity, flexibility, softness and at times bio-stability or bio-degradability.
Fibers used in medical field may vary from natural fiber such as cotton, silk, regenerated wood fluff (absorbent layer), to, manmade fibers like polyester, polyamide, polyethylene, glass fiber etc.
The various applications of different fiber in medical field are shown as follows:
| Sr No. | Fibre | Application in medical field |
| 1 | Cotton | Surgical clothing gowns, Beddings, Sheets, Pillow cover, Uniforms, Surgical hosiery |
| 2 | Viscose | Caps, Masks, Wipes |
| 3 | Polyester | Gowns, Masks, Surgical cover drapes, Blankets, Coverstock |
| 4 | Polyamide | Surgical hosiery |
| 5 | Polypropylene | Protective clothing |
| 6 | Polyethylene | Surgical covers, Drapes |
| 7 | Glass | Caps mask |
| 8 | Elastomeric | Surgical hosiery |
Current Issues of Medical and Health Care Textiles
A number of crucial issues regarding medical products in general and healthcare and hygiene products in particular have been identified and debated amongst clinicians, environmentalist, drug companies etc. for a long time. The issues such as:
1. Natural against chemical or manufactured fibers
2. Disposable against reusable or durable fabrics
3. Antibacterial or antimicrobial fibers against finishes or coatings for infection control
4. Methods of disposal of clinical waste i.e. landfills against incineration and other forms of medical and clinical waste disposal
There is general move towards an increased use of natural polymers that are biocompatible, biodegradable and nontoxic.
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