Medical textiles
[1] The spectrum of applications of medical textiles ranges from simple cotton bandages to advanced tissue engineering.
[4] Physical and chemical alterations of fiber architectures, the use of functional finishes, and the production of stimuli-sensitive materials are major approaches for developing innovative medical textiles.
[3] Textiles are used in the production of a variety of medical devices, including replacements for damaged, injured, or non-functioning organs.
[12] An ancient Sanskrit text on medicine and surgery, the Sushruta Samhita, categorises Kausheya under the "articles of bandaging.
"[13] The concept of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical practitioners dates all the way back to the 17th century.
So, e.g., medical textile applications (PPE cover all, N95 masks), were in high demand and scarce supply during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in severe shortages.
[7][16][8] Considering the shortage, in February 2020, the World Health Organization restricted the use of medical essentials such as PPE and masks, etc.
The PPE cloth acts as a barrier with the capacity to prevent contaminants from entering the body through respiratory secretions, blood, and bodily fluids.
Human textiles offer a potential solution to mitigate the drawbacks associated with foreign agents that may induce adverse side effects.
[29] The Cell-Assembled Extracellular matrix (CAM) is both biologically sound and resilient, allowing for large-scale production suitable for clinical applications utilizing regular, adult human fibroblasts.
The materials used in medical textile products must have the following properties: strength, softness, biocompatibility, elasticity, flexibility, nontoxicity, noncarcinogenic, non-allergenic, and air and water permeability.
Polyester, nylon, polypropylene, glass, and carbon are all examples of synthetic fibers used in Medical textiles.
These fibers are categorized as below:[6]: 136, 137 Polylactic acid, also called PLA, is a biodegradable, biosorbable or bioabsorbable polymer used in producing many type of implants such as naturally dissolving stents.
[36][37] Medical textiles use tubular fabrics with carefully chosen materials that are biocompatible, nonallergic, and nontoxic.
[41]: 373 Intelligent textiles can monitor heart rate and blood pressure, which are critical components of medical diagnosis, and controlling them considerably reduces the incidence of serious health disorders.
[41]: 375 Phase-change materials are helpful in medical textiles because they can be utilized to reheat hypothermia patients softly and precisely.
[41]: 54, 55 Materials with shape-memory polymers that have the capabilities of temperature adaptive moisture management can improve the thermo-physiological comfort of patients.
[42] Nonwoven fabrics with two or more fibers layers are widely used in a variety of applications, including tissue engineering scaffolds, wipes, wound dressings, and barrier materials.
Due to its ease of manipulation, high efficiency, controllability, and environmentally friendly chemical process, microfluidic systems have been identified as an appropriate microreactor platform for the production of anisotropic fibers.
[44][45] Medical textiles cover a vast area of application that includes wound care, disease management, preventive clothing, bandages, hygiene (hospital linen), etc.
[3] Knitting, weaving, braiding, crocheting, composite materials, and non-woven technologies are all different fabric manufacturing systems used in contemporary wound care.
[46] Research subjects in medical textiles include materials and products with significantly superior attributes produced using advanced technology and novel methodologies.
Chitosan, Alginate, Collagen, branan ferulate, and carbon fiber-based goods offer numerous advantages over conventional materials.
Materials used in wound care also include foams, hydrogels, films, hydrocolloids, and matrix (tissue engineering).
The physical and chemical properties of fibers, the size of the pores, and the strength of the fabric all play a role in how textile technologies can be used in tissue engineering.
[47] Fibrous structures can be made and shaped with textile technology to meet the needs of a wide range of tissue engineering applications.
The chitosan-based compound also shows efficacy against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and cotton fabrics treated with copper along with chitosan and citric acid.
[64] 510(K) is a premarket submission made to the Food and Drug Administration in order to demonstrate that the device to be sold is safe and effective.
