Everything You Should Know About Medical Device Assembly

Posted by hbfuller14 on August 16th, 2019

Devices that are available in today’s medical field are highly refined and practical as compared to those of the past era. These devices are used for various purposes such as for conducting surgeries, diagnostic monitoring or treatments. Medical devices are composed of several components that are joined together with the help of adhesives. Although earlier it was believed that combining technical components of medical devices using adhesives is nothing but a myth, adhesives have busted all these false statements by winning the medical industry with their application. Adhesive advancement has seen such a surge due to its ability to join everything, including plastics, glass, and metal, with great consistency. Medical device assembly using adhesives has assisted the production of catheters and disposable medical devices.

The advantages of medical adhesives are found in the assembly of a wide range of substrates such as UV-inhibited and tinted plastics, anesthesia masks, oxygenators, medical electronics, needles and syringes, tube sets, respiratory devices, and many more disposable medical devices. While there are three types of standard medical device adhesives, their composition categories limit to just two formulations: Synthetic and Biological.

There are a variety of synthetic adhesives known as cyanoacrylates, silicone, and polyurethanes. Cyanoacrylates or acrylics are commonly used in medical devices that are used for suturing wounds. An example of cyanoacrylates is a pressure-sensitive tape that is popular for bandage and disposable application. There are also various curing formulations of silicone that are used for medical bonding because of its biocompatibility. Polyurethanes are also used in bandages but have gained popularity mostly due to their water resistance feature. On the other hand, biological adhesives are created by using variations of proteins that are used for mending damaged tissues and wounds. The major application of biological adhesives is in surgical appliances such as for skin grafting and wound suturing. Pressure-sensitive, dissolvable, and electrically conductive adhesives are three types of standard adhesives that require different methods of application for being applied on different substrates in medical devices.

Medical device adhesives comply with all key regulations and are trusted with their ability to withstand the severity of the product’s end-use. Adhesives benefit the medical industry by providing support to people in seconds upon getting exposure to UV light. Medical device adhesives possess high bond strength thus ensuring fast recovering process and greater output in a cost-effective manner.

Continuous advancement in medical device assembly has resulted in more advanced and complex medical devices that eventually simplified the medical treatments and curing processes. The foregoing article was a quick guide for people in the medical industry on medical device adhesives, their types, and benefits that everyone can go through for a greater knowledge of the medical equipment they use every day but aren’t aware of their basic components.