Source: J4 Communications

As other major material-consuming industries such as automotive and consumer durables continue to weaken, suppliers such as Dow, DuPont, Eastman, and Sabic (formerly GE Plastics) are aggressively targeting the medical-device market. This was the case at this month, MD&M West show in Anaheim. At a press briefing to announce medical grades of its Tritan copolyester, for example, Eastman executives said their engineers are being brought in earlier by customers to discuss optimum part design using new materials. “Device manufacturers are looking for alternative materials,” says Kenneth Breeding, Eastman’s technical platform manager – application research, medical development. See the New Products in this issue for a few of the material innovations shown at MD&M West. For other MD&M West innovations, see upcoming issues of Medical Design magazine.