MATERIALS | MEDICAL TUBING
technology of antimicrobial agents and bioactive surface treatments, he added. “Optimised PET blends can achieve high burst
pressure, and enhance both flexibility and kink resistance with thinner, lower- profile walls and improved trackability in complex anatomies,” according to Dao.
Techniplex showed its tubing and catheter systems at MD&M Minneapolis IMAGE: TECHNIPLEX
Tubing demonstrations
At MD&M Minneapolis last year, TekniPlex Healthcare displayed a range of medical tubing and catheter systems. These included its PTA/PTCA balloon catheter tubing for
coronary and non-coronary angioplasty applications. Ranging in balloon size from 1 to 30mm, its customised balloon catheter tubing is made at tight tolerances (±0.0005in) with a concentricity of over 90%. The tubing’s controlled elongation rate provides blown balloons with uniform wall thickness, improving overall yield and substantially reducing bursting risk, it says. The company’s tri-layer inner tubing constructs consist of polyamide or polyether block amide copolymer (PEBA) outer layers with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) inner layers. These are used in interventional vascular systems to allow diagnostic and therapeutic devices – such as balloon catheters for coronary, peripheral and neurovascular intervention – to more easily advance over guidewires. The inner tubing’s HDPE inner layer reduces friction on the wire, while the outer layer is bondable to balloon catheter tubing of similar materials; the middle layer is a thin adhesive ‘tie layer’. The thickness of the inner and outer layers can be customised to suit various applications, it said. At the more recent MD&M West, Davis-Standard showed its in-house medical tubing capabilities. With Conair and Zumbach, it showcased a static silicone tubing line, a four-lumen Pebax line and a three-lumen TPE bump tubing line. The four-lumen Pebax tubing line merged the in-house medical tubing technologies of Davis-Standard and Maillefer. The lightweight, elastomeric properties of Pebax have made it a material of choice for medical applications involving fluid transfer, catheters and balloon tubing. The line included Davis-Standard’s HPE extruder with a Maillefer die and downstream equipment. A Zumbach gauge system and servo air controllers – along with a Conair chiller and drying system – completed the line. �
www.davis-standard.com �
www.conairgroup.com �
www.zumbach.com
22 PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION | Summer 2025
Direct bonding Basker Lalgudi, business manager for medical devices at Evonik, explained how the company’s PEBA polymers could be bonded directly to EFEP in a single-step co- extrusion for multi-layer catheters.
Multi-layer catheters are common in angioplasty
for PTCA or guidewire catheters and require combination of dissimilar polymers – which is difficult to achieve. Typical approaches include adhesive tie layers (such as Plexar), chemical or plasma etching and heat shrinkage. Making multi-layer tubing with fluoropolymer and PEBA requires a multi-step process that takes time, energy and cost. He said that Evonik’s ME-B polymer cuts manufacturing time and the risk of delamination – turning it into a single-step process. Strong, adhesive-free bonding – via coextrusion
of Vestamid Care ME-B and Neoflon EFEP RP-5101 eliminates the mandrel, etching and multi-step construction – while boosting reliability and productivity, he said. The co-extruded catheters can be produced
with properties across all Shore D hardnesses. The company has also developed a new method to validate peel strength. “This is a perfect solution for multi-layer medical tubing that increases efficiency and reliability and reduces labour and processing steps to cut overall cost,” he said.
Material replacements Despite the number of speakers publicising PVC alternatives, Christian Herrild, director of growth strategies at Teel Plastics, said that reports its demise were premature. “PVC is a good material for many applications,”
he said. “The health risks of PVC are generally plasticiser-focused and frequently overstated.” It has many advantages, including adjustable
flexibility, easy bondability, stretch resistance, kink resistance and cost effectiveness. However, many customers are asking for PVC replacements for several reasons: they have a corporate mandate to be out of PVC; they believe it will be banned in Europe in 5-10 years; or they want to “enhance
www.pipeandprofile.com
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