Eastman (Booth 2301) has announced that it will participate in the Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) West trade show in Anaheim, California, which is to be held from February 5 to 7, 2019 to showcase its range of plastics materials for medical packaging and devices.
Eastman leverages forty years of medical industry expertise to produce specialty plastics for rigid medical packaging and medical devices. The company will be highlighting the many ways they work throughout the value chain to impact positive patient outcomes.
This includes:
- Supporting the development of new packaging engineers,
- Working closely with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) designers and engineers to improve processes and drive product innovations, and
- Deeply engaging with the healthcare industry to bring awareness to the role of surfaces and materials in combating healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs).
Collaborations to be spotlighted include the Clemson University Capstone Project, the Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC), Mindray, and the Healthcare Surfaces Institute.
Collaborations Enhancing Medical Innovation Capabilities
At Clemson University as part of its ongoing collaboration with the Packaging Science degree program, Eastman is working with co-sponsors Remington Medical, a leading producer of disposable medical devices, and Tek Pak, an innovative medical thermoformer to help students develop prototypes of rigid medical packaging for hip implants and learn critical elements of the validation protocol. The student team in Dr. Robert Kimmel’s Package Design and Development course worked with extruded polyester sheet provided by Pacur, while getting hands-on guidance from Eastman and co-sponsors. The overall experience allowed the students to get a preview of a career in the medical device industry as a packaging engineer.
Sustainability and Recycling of Medical Plastics
As a longstanding member of HPRC NA chapter, Eastman is also expanding its engagement in 2019 by joining the council’s European chapter. Eastman will work alongside other companies who are members of HPRC to help facilitate efforts related to sustainability and recycling of medical plastics in the region.
Bringing Innovations to Market
Eastman continues to evolve how it works with OEMs to bring innovations to market. Mindray, a leading global manufacturer of medical technology, has selected Eastman’s medical polymers for its patient monitors, demonstrating its commitment to producing medical equipment and devices that are easy to use and clean, and that will withstand the cleaning protocols so necessary in healthcare environments to keep patients safe. Mindray’s product selection was a result of independently replicating Eastman’s testing protocols, for example, its 4-step test, to validate performance data.
Polymers for Rigid Medical Packaging and Medical Devices
Eastman is expanding its portfolio of medical polymers, working with OEMs to identify the attributes needed for specific product requirements and processing characteristics that improve manufacturability.
Eastman Tritan™ copolyester fuels their portfolio of flame retardant polymers for electronic medical device housings and hardware. The materials offer:
- Unsurpassed chemical compatibility with a wide range of disinfectants used to combat healthcare-associated infections (HAIs)
- Improved durability and impact strength.
Dedicated Sessions at MD&M West Eastman invites attendees to learn more about these and other product advancements at Lunch and Learn events in rigid medical packaging and medical devices as well as through sessions on the MD&MW conference program.
- Eastman will host a session titled Choosing the Right Polymers for Manufacturability and Durability: What Hospitals Measure on Thursday, February 7 at 10:15 a.m.
- Highlighting the role additive manufacturing can play in medical device development and production, Eastman will also give a presentation titled Thermoplastic Elastomer Powder and its Benefits in Printing Medical Devices on Thursday, February 7 at 9:15 a.m. as part of the 3D Innovation Summit.
In addition to Eastman MXF221 for device housings, Eastman’s family of brands includes: