1. Artificial organsArtificial organs refer to materials that can be implanted into the human body or can come into contact with biological tissues or biological fluids; or materials that have the function of natural organ tissues or parts, such as artificial heart valves, artificial blood vessels, artificial kidneys, artificial joints, artificial bones, artificial tendons, etc., which are usually considered as implantable medical devices. Artificial organs are mainly divided into 3 types: mechanical artificial organs, semi-mechanical and semi-biological artificial organs, and biological artificial organs. The first one refers to the use of polymer materials to imitate organs, which are usually not biologically active; the second one refers to the combination of electronic technology and biotechnology; and the third one refers to the use of stem cells and other purely biological methods to artificially "create" organs. Biomedical polymer materials are mainly used in the first type of artificial organs.
Currently, orthopedics accounts for about 38% of the market share of implantable medical devices; followed by cardiovascular at 36%; and wound care and orthopedics at about 8%. Artificial reconstruction of bone in the orthopedic products market accounted for more than 31% of the market share, the main products are artificial knees, artificial hip joints, and bone bioactive materials, etc., the main application of biomedical polymer materials such as polymethyl methacrylate, high-density polyethylene, polysulfone, poly(levulinic acid), ethanolic acid*** polymer, liquid crystal self-reinforcing poly(lactic acid), self-reinforcing poly(ethanolic acid), and so on. Stents account for more than half of the market share in the cardiovascular products market, in addition to peripheral vascular catheter grafts, vascular access devices, and cardiac pacemakers.
At present, all countries have recognized the important value of artificial organs, increased research and development efforts, and made some progress.In 2015, researchers at Cornell University in the United States developed a lightweight, flexible material and are ready to use it to create an artificial heart. In China, 3D-printed artificial hip products received registration approval from the State Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), which is the first 3D-printed human implant in China.
The future development trend of artificial organs is materials and implanted devices that induce regeneration of damaged tissues or organs. The development trend of artificial bone preparation is to combine bioactive substances and matrix substances together to promote adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of bioactive substances. The development trend of vascular bioscaffolds is polymer ****blending technology, such as sodium alginate/chitosan, collagen/chitosan, collagen/agarose, chitosan/gelatin, chitosan/polycaprolactone, polylactic acid/polyethylene glycol and other systems.
2. Medical plastics medical plastics, mainly used for blood transfusion apparatus, syringes, cardiac catheters, central venous cannulae, peritoneal dialysis tubes, cystostomy tubes, medical adhesives, and a variety of medical catheters, medical films, trauma dressing materials and a variety of surgical, nursing supplies. Injection-molded products are the largest output of medical plastic products.
Currently, the medical plastics market accounts for about 10% of the global medical device market, and maintains an average annual growth rate of 7% to 12%. Statistics show that the United States per person per year in the field of medical plastics consumption of 300 U.S. dollars, while our country only 30 yuan, which shows that the development of medical plastics in China's potential is very large.
China's medical plastic products industry after years of development, has made great progress. China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicine and Health Products statistics show that in the first half of 2015, gauze, bandages, medical catheters, cotton wool, chemical fiber disposable or medical non-woven material clothing, syringes and other disposable consumables and low-end diagnostic and therapeutic equipment to become China's medical equipment exports. But must also be soberly realized that China's medical plastics development level is still relatively backward. Medical plastics raw materials category is not complete, production quality standards are not standardized, new technologies and new products, weak innovation ability, resulting in some high-end raw materials lead to domestic demand for high-end products raw materials are still mainly rely on imports.
Currently countries have recognized the important value of medical plastics, increased research and development efforts, and made some progress. 2015, the Claremont Clinic in London, England, took the lead in plastic lens transplantation, not only to treat farsightedness or nearsightedness, but also to restore the vision of people suffering from cataracts and astigmatism; Sumitomo Demag launched a polyacetal (POM) gear micro-injection molding Sumitomo Demag introduced a polyformaldehyde (POM) gear micro-injection molding equipment, which plays an important role in new cataract surgical instruments; American Merican developed a technology to improve the moisture and oxidation resistance of plastic bottles for over-the-counter medicines and healthcare products by 30%; MHT Moulds and Hot Runner Technologies developed PET blood test tubes with a mass of less than 4g, which is superior to that of glass; Rollprint, in cooperation with TOPAS Advanced Polymers, used cyclo-olefin** to produce a new type of blood tube, which has a lower mass than that of glass. to use cyclic olefin*** polymers as an alternative to polyacrylonitrile resins to meet demanding medical standards; and U.S.-based compound maker Tenor Apex has introduced a rigid PVC to replace PC materials used in clear medical parts such as connectors, check valves, Y-fittings, sleeves, luer interface fittings, filters, drippers and lids, and specimen containers.
The future trend of medical plastics is to develop medical plastics that are resistant to a variety of sterilization methods, to improve the hemocompatibility and histocompatibility of existing medical plastics, and to develop new types of therapeutic, diagnostic, preventive, and healthcare plastics.