The Medical Textile Market Ushered In A Period Of Rapid Growth

Technical textiles are the fastest growing product in the global textile industry, while medical textiles are the most dynamic industry in the industrial textile industry. The long-established British Textile Industry Association recently published a public publication "The Prospects of the World Textile Industry in 2010", which mentioned that the total global output of medical textiles in 2000 was about 1.5 million tons, with a total value of 5.4 billion US dollars. The sales volume of textiles will reach 2.4 million tons, with a total value of 8.2 billion U.S. dollars, and its growth rate will greatly exceed the annual growth rate of other industrial textiles. According to the prediction of professionals, the world textile industry is rapidly transforming into high value-added textiles. Among them, medical textiles, protective textiles, and some high-end special textiles, such as smart textiles (also known as smart textiles), will undoubtedly be development. The fastest high value-added textiles.

Demographic factors affect market trends

Population growth, especially in developing countries. Changes in the demographic structure of Western countries, especially in aging societies. Changes in living standards. Concerns about blood-borne and air-borne diseases and the corresponding protective measures adopted. The market share of manufacturers and well-known brands continues to improve the performance of medical textiles and enhance consumers’ ability to pay. The share of non-woven fabrics in the traditional textile market continues to expand. These factors have a decisive effect on the development trend of the world medical textile market, and the development trend in turn also affects the development model of the medical textile industry.

According to the analysis of western market analysts, the rapid development of the world's medical textile market in the past decade is related to the aging population structure of European and American countries. In the 1980s, the elderly over the age of 60 only accounted for 22% of the total population in Europe. In 2006, the proportion of elderly people in Europe accounted for 40% of the total population. In other words, there are about 80 million elderly people in Europe. The elderly’s demand for medical devices is higher than that of other groups. Therefore, as part of the medical textiles attached to medical devices, the surge in its consumption is also reasonable.

Some products usher in a period of rapid growth

According to the British market analysis report, among the medical textiles, the fastest-growing products in the next few years include: conventional bandages, implant materials and facial tissues with good biocompatibility, antibacterial wound dressing materials, prosthetic materials, and intelligent textile. The above five types of medical textiles have a wide range of uses, so the raw materials for processing these textiles, such as single-layer fibers, multi-layer fibers, knitted products, non-woven fabrics, woven and composite materials, will usher in a period of rapid growth.

In the 21st century, with the rapid development of material science, some new medical textiles have come out one after another, including: implantable medical device materials, specific products are: biodegradable suture (the raw materials used are collagen, catgut, poly Glycolic acid, polylactic acid, etc.) Biodegradable suture thread (the raw materials used are polyester fiber, PTFE fiber, polypropylene fiber and polyethylene fiber, etc.) Artificial tendon (the material used is silk, collagen, polyester fiber, PTFE fiber, polyurethane fiber And polyethylene fibers, etc.) Artificial ligaments (the materials used are polyester fibers, carbon fibers, collagen, etc.), artificial skin (the raw materials used are chitosan), artificial cartilage (the raw materials used are low-density polyethylene fibers, etc.), contact lens and Artificial cornea (materials used are polymethacrylic fiber, silicone, collagen, etc.) artificial blood vessels (materials used are PTFE fibers, polyester fibers, etc.) Artificial valves (materials used: polyester fibers, etc.). New products of in vitro medical textile medical devices. Specific products include: artificial kidney (raw material is hollow polyester fiber, hollow viscose fiber, etc.), artificial liver (raw material is hollow viscose fiber, etc.) Mechanical lung (raw material is hollow acrylic fiber, Hollow silicone membrane, etc.).

The annual growth rate of bulk medical textiles has remained at 8%-10% in recent years, which is much higher than that of other medical textiles. In the next few years, a large number of medical textiles, such as pullovers, surgical caps, surgical masks, surgical towels, surgical gowns, surgical gowns, bed sheets, pillows, hospital gowns, protective clothing, diapers and briefs for urinary incontinence patients will be used by surgeons. The market for other products will grow extremely fast. The above products are either pure cotton fabrics, polyester, viscose, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyurethane and other chemical fibers, or cotton/chemical fiber blends.

Non-woven products will grow by leaps and bounds

Another new trend of medical textiles is: the rapid development of medical textiles for burns, the materials used are increasingly using composite materials, including non-woven fabrics and knitted fabric composite materials, membranes, foam plastics and viscose Various new medical materials, etc. They have become conventional medical supplies with huge clinical usage.

Currently, the five most developed markets for medical textiles are: the United States, Europe (mainly EU countries), Canada, Japan, and Australia. The sales of medical textiles in these five major markets account for approximately 90% of the total sales of the world's medical textiles market, while other countries and regions together account for only 10%. Among them, Europe is the "leader" in the world's medical textile industry, especially in the production of non-woven medical textiles. However, medical non-woven fabrics are mainly produced by some European small and medium-sized enterprises, and few large companies are involved. Some high value-added medical textiles being developed by European companies include: special biological materials, intelligent textiles, and "textile sensors" that can improve the accuracy of laboratory results. One thing is certain, disposable medical textiles for operating rooms (most of them are inexpensive non-woven products) will have a rapid growth in the next few years.

Keywords: medical textiles

The classification and definition of medical textiles can refer to the classification of other medical devices, namely Class I (products that are safer to the human body), Class II a (products with moderate risks), Class II b (products with certain risks), and Class III ( Highly dangerous products). Class III medical devices directly affect the safety of vital organs or life support systems, while Class I medical devices are products that are non-invasive or do not directly contact the human body. As medical textiles managed by medical device products, they can be divided into 4 categories according to their different uses, namely: non-implantable materials, implantable materials, external devices (such as artificial kidneys, etc.), medical and sanitary textiles ( Such as gauze, doctor work clothes, patient clothes, bed sheets, surgical towels, etc.). According to different processing techniques, medical textiles can be roughly divided into: ordinary textiles, non-woven fabrics, knitwear, special fabrics (such as perforated fabrics and other fabrics with good permeability, which can be used in medical products such as skin patches).