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2008-9-10
Technical textiles are one of the fastest growing sectors of the global textile industry. According to 'Technical Textiles and Industrial Nonwovens: World Market Forecast to 2010' published by David Rigby Associates it is forecast that the world market for technical textiles and industrial nonwovens will reach 23.8 mn tons with a value of $ 126 bn by 2010. The drivers for future growth of this industry are expected to be Asian countries like China and India.
The Indian technical textile industry was estimated by Tata Economic Consultancy Services (TECS) to be about Rs 23,300 crore during 2005-06 which is expected to increase to Rs 29,600 crore ($ 7.5 billion) by 2007-08 registering a growth of 11.51 % per annum, while the total textile production may touch over $ 45 billion.
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Various techniques of application are required for finishing of medical textiles with specific finish that may include: coating, spraying, padding etc. |
The Working Group for the 11th Five Year Plan has projected the market size of technical textiles to grow at about 15% per annum and at this growth rate, the market size for technical textiles will increase from Rs 26,076 crore ($ 6.5 billion) in 2006-07 to Rs 52,200 crore ($ 13 billion) by 2011-12. Keeping such high growth rate of the Technical Textiles market in view the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in his Valedictory Address announced, during the Tex-Summit 2007 organised by the Ministry of Textiles on 31st August and 1st September 2007, about the launching of Rs 689 crore Technology Mission on Technical Textiles in the 11th Five Year Plan.
An objective of the Mission will be to focus on key segments viz Agrotech, Meditech, Buildtech and Geotech. These sectors are expected to grow at a rate of 8%, 12%, 15%, and 15%, respectively. The Meditech will focus on sanitary napkins, incontinence diapers, baby diapers, surgical dressings, healthcare textiles, sutures, medical devices and implants. The market size for these products will grow from Rs 1280.32 crores to around Rs 2256.36 crore during 2006-07 to 2011-12.
Textiles used for medical, healthcare and hygiene are classified as Medical textiles or Meditech. Some areas of usage are:
- Non-implantable materials - For wound care that includes absorbent pad and bandages
- Textiles in Extracorporeal devices - Like artificial kidney, liver and lungs.
- Implantable materials - Like sutures (biodegradable and non-biodegradable), soft tissue implants, artificial tendon (meshes)" artificial ligament, artificial cartilage, orthopaedic implants, artificial joint, cardiovascular implants, vascular grafts, heart valves.
- Healthcare/hygiene products - Include bedding, clothing, surgical clothes, products for feminine hygiene like sanitary napkins, baby and adult diapers etc.
Finishing
Most of the medical textiles are prefabricated ready-to-use products. They are made from various bio-compatible skin-friendly fibres with some inherent properties and added functionalities. The added functionalities may be imparted during the production of the fibres or applied as a specialty finish to the fibre, yarn, fabric or the product itself.
 Various techniques of application are required for finishing of medical textiles with specific finish that may include: coating, spraying, padding etc. Such finishes must be applied in infection-free environment or the finished product may be required to be sterilised before use. The finish to be applied may have an auxiliary function or may be an integral part of the whole product. Standard products for coating on the field of medical application are self adhesive plaster, wound dressing and compresses, plaster and bandage materials, collagen and siliconised tissues, and operation and post-operative textiles such as clothing and covers. The properties required may be hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, alcohol repellency, water density, medicine release and nano porosity.
The medical textiles may have 'Interactive materials', which can react to human and environmental conditions: phase-change materials (thermo-regulating systems), shape memory materials, change of colour in case of emergency, reaction by change of temperature, pH-value and electro active influences, microencapsulation of specific agents, transdermal systems - coating of textiles with active substances and medicals, production of layers from gel with encapsulation of additional substances.
In the following sections a brief description of some of the product and the requirement of the finish is discussed.
Non-implantable materials
Generally wound care products such as absorbent pads, bandages and plasters are classified as non-implantable medical textiles. Other textile products such as, protective gowns, gloves, operating-room drapes masks, shoe covers also form a part of non-implanted textile materials. However, they will be discussed under healthcare and hygiene products category.
Such materials are used for external application and they mayor may not come in contact with the skin. Wound dressings that generally are made from highly absorbent fibres or polymer coatings absorb blood and provide medication and are composite fabrics that are produced by coating an adhesive (in many cases pressure sensitive) between the fabric layers and may also be an absorbent polymer and a medication. These are auxiliary finishing compositions that become an integral part of the product.
The dressings come in a variety of styles and sizes for all parts of the body, enabling wounds from surgical procedures, and plaster casts, to be kept dry and prevent unnecessary dressing changes. This minimises damage to the wound, pain and the chance of cross infection, maximising how quickly the wound heals.
A number of wound care companies have launched different kind of wound care materials that have been classified into 10 different categories, namely
- low-adherence dressings
- gauze impregnated dressings,
- dextranomer paste pad and dressing
- alginate dressing
- hydrocolloid dressings
- hydrogels
- vapour permeable adhesive film dressings
- polyurethane foam dressings
- zinc paste bandages, and
- iodine containing dressing.
(Y Quin, 'Smart wound-care materials, in 'Smart textiles for medicine and healthcare: Materials, systems and application', Ed. By L. Van Langenhove, Woodhead Pulishing Limited, England, 2007, p 27-49).
Wound dressings generally consist of a layer of absorbent material, such as an absorbent gauze or foam layer, wherein the layer is supported on an adhesive coated semi-permeable backing sheet. An adhesive-coated margin of the backing sheet extends outwardly from the edges of the absorbent layer for attachment of the dressing over a wound by adhesion to the skin surrounding the wound. The absorbent layer serves to absorb wound exudates.
Such dressings require a coat of an adhesive layer that may consists of acrylate ester copolymers, polyvinyl ethyl ether or polyurethane of these adhesives polyurethane-based pressure sensitive adhesives are preferred. The basis weight of the adhesive layer is between 50 to 150 g/m2. The adhesive layer should be moisture vapor transmitting and/or patterned to allow passage of water vapour.
The zinc oxide based dressings consist of zinc oxide, glycerin, water, and a preservative. A number of other natural substances, such as gelatin, alginates, gum arabic, and agar agar, are also added as binders. The preservatives ore commonly esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid or boric acid.
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