|
Schools and many organizations would like us to believe that plastics are an evil to be banished from the society. The fact remains that life is impossible without plastics and indiscriminate littering of thin plastic packaging is the root problem
Plastics have made our lives convenient and many modern gadgets would be impossible without plastics. Even basic requirements like brushing your teeth are impossible without plastics. Let us explore the role plastics play in ensuring our well being, good health, treatment of ailments and the promise for a healthier future that they hold
Properties
The term plastics refers to a very wide range of high molecular weight compounds of synthetic or natural origin that can be formed under heat and pressure. Plastic (polymer) molecules are characterized by repetition of one or more type of monomeric units. They come in a very wide variety of properties and newer molecules and polymerization methods will see the entry of new plastics over the coming decades. Some of the common plastics that you see in daily life are PVC (shoes, shower curtains), Polypropylene (Microwave ware), Polyethylene (Shopping bags), Polystyrene (Disposable cups and plates), ABS (Body of home appliances) and PET (Soda Bottles). The reader is cautioned that most plastics have multiple applications and compete with each other for the same usage.
Plastics have a wide range of properties that enable them to function as essential aids in medical procedures. Few of these include :
Ease of sterilization
Low cost and hence disposable
Transparency
Resistance to a range of chemicals used in medicine
Can be easily shaped into desired and complex forms
Biodegradability
Light Weight
High Strength to weight ratio
Flexibility
Resistance to impact and breakage
Applications:
 |
Internal Visual Examination: Optic fibre the medium that has transformed telecommunication helps you maneouvre a video camera to desired location and carries the video image to the external monitor
|
|
Cardiac Treatment |
| a) |
The catheter and mechanism used to reach the required location and place the stent in the heart are made from plastics. There is no other material that can be used for this life saving procedure
|
| b) |
Artificial heart is made of metal and plastics. With invention of newer plastics the weight of the device is likely to reduce drastically from the current 675 grams making surgery easier and life comfortable for the patient. |
|
Eye Care: Contact lenses are a result of modern developments in plastics. Replacing glass and metal with plastics in spectacles has reduced weight, improved shatter resistance reducing risk of injury.
|
|
Packaging: Plastics are inert to most chemicals used in medicines. Plastic bottles are light and less prone to breakage and resultant injury. Hence they form the ideal medium to pack liquid medicines. Eye droppers, ear and nasal drops cannot be delivered without a plastic cap. Transparent blister packs of tablets help deliver medicines in a hygienic pack and easy to identify. Holograms made from plastics enable us have temper evident seals. In addition, child-resistant caps possible with plastics keep medicines away from little hands. P lastics ensure that life-saving products, like drugs and blood, remain sterile.
|
|
Prosthetics and Artificial Limbs: Metal or wooden prosthetics are voluminous, heavy and difficult to design. Plastic prosthetics are more weather resistant. Many body joints, including fingers and toes, spinal vertebrae, hips, shoulders and elbows can now be made artificially. The low friction of plastic makes them the ideal choice for use in articulated joints providing comfort, flexibility, mobility and a life-like appearance |
|
Disposable syringes are possible only because plastics make possible production of a sterile and low cost product |
|
Oxygen masks and IV bags, gloves, dressing, bandage, tapes are all made of plastics |
|
Surgical Reconstruction : Porous plastics are being developed for use in surgical reconstruction, where their unique structure helps spur rapid growth of new tissue. |
|
Laboratory ware, petridish and other plastic ware make lab testing possible |
|
Artificial Muscles: Electro-active polymeric materials, which behave like muscle fibre when an electrical current is applied, are being researched for use in artificial muscles and organs.
|
|
Body spare parts: Innovative plastics-based devices have become an essential part of the medical field. From heart valves, bone cements, blood lines and feeding tubes, to tooth substitutes, and pacemakers, these devices are made from different kinds of engineering plastics. |
|
Modern Machines like MRI, Sonography etc. contain a large percentage of plastics.
|
|
Targeted and Controlled Drug Delivery � Drugs can be targeted directly to the body part where they are needed with the help of biocompatible polymer systems used to encapsulate the drugs. Unnecessary side effects are thus avoided. Patients with brain tumours can now have the plastic-encapsulated drugs surgically implanted in the tumour cavity and the drug cnn be delivered over an extended period of time in a controlled fashion |
|
Baby care products like teethers, milk bottles, measured cups for milk powder, diapers, sanitary pads are all made from soft rubber like plastics and plastics like polycarbonate and polypropylene |
|
Polymers of microbe origin, or biopolymers, have recently drawn increasing attention. These polymers have two important advantages. Firstly, they get destroyed in the environment and thus solve the contamination problem. Secondly, they are biocompatible, and consequently, they are not rejected by the body. They hold promising for use in medicine (surgical and disposable materials) and pharmacology (prolongation of drug action). They serve as delivery vehicles for cells�scaffolds that support engineered organs until they can function alone�and promoters of tissue regeneration. They will be used to produce wound healing films, suture material, covering for vessel prostheses (stents), matrix for bioartificial organs and implantates, membranes, microparticles, etc. |
|
In addition to housing electronic equipment that saves lives � such as incubators, heart monitors and defibrillators plastics are also used to replace skin, tendons, cartilage and to connect body tissue.
|
|
In medical packaging: Plastics also add functionality to other medicinal materials, like specialized coatings for medical devices that are implanted within the body |
Without plastics, much of modern medical practice would not be possible. P lastics have become increasingly important to our healthcare. Plastics are now inextricably linked to the well-being of millions of people. They have reduced contamination, relieved pain and cut medical costs. They have prolonged, improved and saved lives, helping us live longer and more productive lives. Plastics contribute to our ongoing health and safety. |
{{comment.DateTimeStampDisplay}}
{{comment.Comments}}