Medical-grade PEEK, PAEK replaces metal in surgical instruments

12-Oct-16

Solvay has announced at EUROSPINE 2016 that its medical grade KetaSpire® polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and AvaSpire® polyaryletherketone (PAEK) polymers enabled one of the medical device pioneers, Shanghai Reach Medical Instrument Company, to develop a lighter, more ergonomic and highly cost-effective kit of reusable instruments for spinal surgeries.

Xiaomin Huang, General Manager of Shanghai Reach, said:
“For decades, metal was the material of choice for medical instruments because conventional plastics could not deliver metal’s combination of high modulus, strong chemical resistance and compatibility with stringent sterilization methods. Today, Solvay’s broad range of specialty polymers is changing that reality – not only by offering metal-like performance, but by also enabling the fabrication of more complex and integrated parts through cost-effective injection molding.”

Typically, these parts would be made from stainless steel. But Shanghai Reach’s goal was to reduce instrument weight by up to 70% for improved ergonomics, yet not compromise on mechanical properties or sterilizability. In addition to lightweight strength and stiffness, Solvay’s two biocompatible polymers offer strong resistance to fatigue and are compatible with sterilization methods based on stringent chemicals, steam and even gamma radiation.