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| Issue date:16/04/2009 |
| ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel - Apr 2009 Issue |
| Source:Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel |
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| In addition to rapid technological advances have been driving the global medical textile market, as Sanjay Gupta observes, other factors, including global population increase, rising awareness over hygiene, and protective measures to avoid contamination and infection in hospitals are inspiring the market |
Technical textiles and nonwovens are estimated to constitute half of all spending in Asia's textile segment. For two decades, China's technical textile consumption has grown by more than 10% annually, and is expected to total five million metric tons by 2010. Nonwoven consumption has grown by an astounding 30% per year and expected to reach approximately two million metric tons by 2010.
Demand for technical textiles and nonwovens was earlier fuelled by the 2008 Beijing Olympics and now the World Expo to be held in Shanghai in 2010. Chinese government's plans for construction of new rural roads, in addition to agriculture, medical treatment and housing improvements is stimulating the growth even further.
The Indian technical textile industry was estimated to be worth US$6 billion in 2006 and projected to reach US$7.5 billion by 2010, registering an annual growth of 11.51%. A governmental working group for the Indian 11th Five-Year Plan has projected the market size of technical textiles to grow at about 15% per annum and reach US$13 billion by 2011-12. The medical textiles segment is anticipated to grow at 12%, manufacturing sanitary napkins, incontinence diapers, baby diapers, surgical dressings, healthcare textiles, sutures, medical devices and implants.
Turkey, where Southwestern Asia meets Southeastern Europe, is also showing high growth rates in this segment. Imports of technical textiles grew from US$265 million in 2000 to US$625 million in 2006. Exports more than doubled in the period reaching US$847 million in 2006.
Medical fabric market relatively bright
Among other areas in the technical textile sector, the segment of medical textiles is one of the fastest growing segments in the global technical textiles market.
Medical textiles are broadly segmented into the following:
Implantable materials include sutures, vascular prostheses, artificial joints, and scaffolds;
Extracorporeal devices like artificial kidney, artificial lung, artificial liver, etc; wound-care products such as absorbent pads, dressings, bandages and plasters (that are classified as non-implantable medical textiles);
Other textile products, e.g. protective gowns, gloves, operating-room drapes, masks, wipes, incontinence diapers, and shoe covers. They also form a part of non-implanted textile materials but are segmented under healthcare and hygiene products along with bedding, mattresses and so forth.
Most of wound care, healthcare or hygiene products are pre-fabricated ready-to-use textile products are made of bio-compatible skin-friendly fibres with some inherent properties and added functionalities. The functionalities are added in the form of a specialty finish to the fibre, yarn, fabric or the product itself via coating, spraying or padding route. The finish to be applied may have an auxiliary function or may be an integral part of the whole product.
Properties like hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, alcohol repellency, nano-porosity, water density, medicine release can be imparted. These products can also be made “interactive” through the use of phase-change materials (thermo-regulation), shape-memory materials, thermochromic dyes, reaction triggered by change of temperature, pH-value and electro active influences, microencapsulation of specific agents, and transdermal / active substance-coated textiles and more.
Nursing wounds with specialty fabrics
Surgical dressings are primarily used for protection against infection, absorbing blood and exudates, promoting healing, or simply to apply medication to the wound. They are expected to be soft, pliable, protect wound from further injury, easily applicable and removable, sterile, lint free and non-toxic.
They are, therefore, usually made from highly absorbent fibres, polymer coatings or composite fabrics.
Note:1 Market sizes of different technical textile applicaion areas in 2011-12 are projected with the anticipated growth rates*
Source: Working Group on textiles and jute industry for the Indian 11th five-year plan (2007-2012) |
Fibers like collagen, alginate and chitin also have proven effectiveness in healing of wounds. The dressings come in a variety of styles and sizes for all parts of the body. Some categories are low-adherence, impregnated gauze, alginate, hydrocolloid, hydrogels, vapour permeable adhesive film, polyurethane foam, zinc paste, and iodine containing dressing.
3M Healthcare, BSN Medical, Elder, and Shanghai Xindong Medical Material Company are some innovative manufacturers in this area.
A vapour permeable adhesive wound dressings, for example, consist of a layer of absorbent gauze or foam layer, supported on an adhesive, coated and semi-permeable backing sheet. The absorbent layer serves to absorb wound exudates and the adhesive-coated margin of the backing sheet extends outwardly for attachment by adhesion to the skin surrounding the wound.
A zinc paste dressings, on the other hand, can consist of zinc oxide, glycerin, water, a preservative and a natural substance like gelatin, alginates, or agar as binder. About 160g/m2 of this mix would be applied in a conventional coating plant to a gauze bandage of 10cm wide and having 20 threads and a selvedge. The coated product is wound on a polystyrene core, wrapped in wax paper, and wrapped in polyethylene-coated aluminum foil before being fused.
The latest addition to the wound dressings is those with an antimicrobial agent such as iodine, ionic silver, silver plus charcoal or polyhexamethyl biguanide (PHMB) incorporated into foams, hydrocolloids, alginates, and fibres. Silver containing dressings where silver cations are released into the wound as they absorb or come in contact with wound exudate are the most popular.
Bandages are mostly used to hold a surgical dressing in place over the wound and can be woven, knitted or nonwoven, and either elastic or non-elastic. Bandages can be used for light support where elasticity obtained by weaving crepe yarns with high twist content is used for managing sprains or strains; or for exerting a certain amount of compression for treatment and prevention of deep vein thrombosis, or as orthopedic cushion used under plaster casts. Compression bandages can provide padding and prevent discomfort.
Bandages have themselves evolved into advanced dressings for wounds and burns enabling direct delivery of antibiotic and other drugs to the affected parts of the body. Some incorporate agents to quickly stop blood loss.
Recent advances include those from USA-based Battelle Memorial Institute, Ethicon, Perlei Medical, Quick-Med Technologies, and University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, as well as from Comvita (New Zealand), ConvaTec (UK), Imedex Biomatériaux (France), and Nycomed (Norway).
Comvita's wound care products (left) is naturally anti-bacterial with absorbent alginate (seaweed) fibres; and Elder offers those with a water-repellent contact layer |
Meanwhile, moisture-curing resins and glass fibres offer a lightweight and more comfortable alternative to plaster of Paris. Recent advances have been introduced by BSN Medical in Germany, Ossur of Iceland, and Japan's Alcare.
Minimizing infection with healthcare fabrics
Healthcare and hygiene products are either used for the purpose of protecting healthcare professionals from contamination by blood and other infectious fluid or more commonly, in hospital wards for the care and hygiene of the patient.
Several studies have found that personnel in contact with contaminated textiles, or the presence of contaminated textiles themselves in hospitals, are an important source of endogenous, indirect-contact, and aerosol transmission of nosocomial-related pathogens.
According to a report hospital-acquired infections in England cost the National Health Service in the region of ₤1 billion each year. At least 5,000 patients die of complications from infections contracted in hospitals, and about 9% (or 300,000) of hospitalized patients in the UK have an infection that they did not have before they arrived. In USA, hospital infections kill 60,000 to 80,000 people a year at an average annual cost of US$6 million per hospital.
Products with antimicrobial, odour absorbing, temperature regulating, blood repelling and anti-allergic properties are finding their way in hospitals.
A number of manufacturers are producing antimicrobial gowns (scrubs), clothing, sheets and pillows using bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal type of agents that keep bedding cleaner and prevent foul odour. SilPure, a nano-silver-based treatment that claims to prevent bacterial growth and bad smells is widely being used for antimicrobial scrubs, bed sheets and pillows.
Antimicrobial propensity of metals and metal salts has been attributed to their ability to deactivate proteins. Cupron healthcare products incorporating copper's antimicrobial properties is such a product.
In addition, Vanson HaloSource has introduced HaloShield technology based on N-Halamine molecules that attract and bind chlorine on the bed linen fabric. Bacteria and viruses coming in contact with chlorine in the fabric are killed instantly. CMI Enterprises has taken into market Nanocide Antimicrobial that kills 99.9% of resistant Staphylococcus germs that come in contact with it within 30 minutes. It is claimed that Nanocide Antimicrobial-treated fabrics can free environment of contamination, and subsequent patient infection from seating and bedding upholstery material in hospitals, clinics, dental offices, and nursing homes.
Increase in the overall population as well as in ageing population will create more demand in future. Other factors like the change in living standards of people; enhanced purchasing power of consumers; rise in awareness about the various health risks and health threats from blood-borne diseases and air-borne pathogens; privatization of healthcare and health insurance; medical tourism; and availability of better quality products will drive the market in future.
Dr Sanjay Gupta is Professor of Textile Design and Development at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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