Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 14

The Truth About PTFE and the
Need for Sustainable Coatings
F
14
luoropolymers are used nearly everywhere, in almost
every major manufacturing sector. Those of us who
manufacture and use the coatings, and our manufacturing
customers, understand the unique benefits
they bring to everyday life, but many others do not.
Like other industrial sectors before them, fluoropolymers have
come under fire for allegedly causing harm to people and the
environment and the search is on for more sustainable coatings
that perform at least as well or better.
Before perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOA) was banned in
2015, the story goes that a lady was heard to say she would never
use coated cookware. When asked why not, she replied, " because
I know that big companies lie. "
Maintaining a good reputation is not easy. What is easy is
losing that reputation. This is especially true today with how
events are portrayed in the media. Claims that have little or no
basis in fact, if loud enough, can set regulating agencies into
motion. A few well-placed social media posts can be enough to
incite protests, but is anyone pausing to ask questions and challenge
the claims? Does anyone realize what the world would be
like without fluoropolymers that make so much of what we buy
and use, including life-saving medical devices, possible?
Spreading the Truth
Instead of allowing misperceptions to fester and further
damage the industry's reputation, what is needed is advocacy
and education of consumers, product design engineers, and
the agencies seeking to eliminate fluoropolymer usage.
For more than a decade, regulatory agencies including the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the EU
Medical Device Regulation (MDR) have scrutinized fluoropolymers
used to manufacture polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
coatings for many products, including medical devices like
guidewires, hypotubes, coil wires, and needles.
By 2015, companies began using short-chain perfluoroalkyl
and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as an alternative to
PFOA. This seemed a viable
solution
until new claims
emerged that PFAS was also harmful to the human body and
the environment.
PFAS, which comprises literally thousands of chemicals, were
labeled as forever chemicals because they break down very slowly
and their use is so widespread. In early February, EU regulators
proposed eliminating the use of PFAS as early as 2026, with
some uses allowed to phase out over the next decade.1 The EPA
will likely follow the EU, but the question is how quickly.
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Medical Design Briefs - October 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Medical Design Briefs - October 2023

Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - CV1a
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - CV1b
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - Cov1
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - Cov2
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 1
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 2
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 3
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 4
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 5
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 6
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 7
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 8
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 9
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 10
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 11
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 12
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 13
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 14
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 15
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 16
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 17
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 18
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 19
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 20
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 21
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 22
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 23
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 24
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Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 26
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Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 28
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 29
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Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 34
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 35
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 36
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 37
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Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 42
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 43
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Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 45
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Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 47
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 48
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 49
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 50
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 51
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Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 53
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 54
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 55
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - 56
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - Cov3
Medical Design Briefs - October 2023 - Cov4
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