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News
February 2008
Disposable cassettes for a new blood warmer. Film enables blood to be warmed using infrared light
Polycarbonate films in the medical technology sector
Makrofol® DE 1-1 allows infrared light to pass through it. The use of infrared light means that blood and other fluids in the disposable cassettes can be warmed gently and within a few seconds to the exact temperature required by the patient.
Evidence for this is provided by the new generation of a blood and fluid warmer known as Fluido®. It is supplied by The Surgical Company International, a subsidiary of The Surgical Company Group headquartered in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, especially for use in operating theaters and intensive care stations. The warmer features a new type of disposable cassette with a transparent cover made of Makrofol® DE 1-1. “The decisive factor in favor of our film was that it allows infrared light to pass through it. The use of infrared light means that blood and other fluids in the disposable cassettes can be warmed gently and within a few seconds to the exact temperature required by the patient,” explains Georgios Tziovaras, a films expert in the Polycarbonates Business Unit of Bayer MaterialScience. The complete cassette and warmer system is manufactured by Medistad Medical B.V. in Medemblik, the Netherlands.
Makrofol® DE 1-1 ensures that the cover is impact resistant and well able to withstand the harsh treatment routinely encountered in hospitals. Its high transparency allows operating theater staff to check what is happening inside the cassette at a glance. The high heat resistance of the film enables the cassettes to be sterilized using superheated steam under pressure at a temperature of 121 °C.
Another advantage of Makrofol® DE 1-1 is its good resistance to body fluids. The grade of Makrolon® polycarbonate from which the film is made satisfies specific requirements of international standard ISO 10993-1 for the biocompatibility of plastics that come into contact with body fluids and tissue. The polycarbonate also complies with the biocompatibility criteria of the US Pharmacopeia, Class VI. This enables it to be used in many products approved by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA).
Makrofol® DE 1-1 is supplied as standard in roll and sheet form with a high gloss finish and protective masking on both sides. The film is available as standard in thicknesses of between 175 and 1000 μm. Other thicknesses are available on request.
