INDUSTRY NEWS
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Makrolon polycarbonate resins containing the new Rx Medical colours comply with ISO 10993-1.
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When it comes to the colour palette available to medical device designers, I am reminded of Henry Ford’s dictum about the Model T automobile: “The customer can have any colour he wants, so long as it’s black.” In the healthcare arena, the colour choices have been almost as restrictive. That is changing, however. Some healthcare products—hearing aids and blood glucose monitors spring to mind—have been taking a cue from the consumer products world, as device designers increasingly borrow the bold lines and vibrant colours of mobile phones and Bluetooth devices. BayerMaterialScience (BMS; Leverkusen, Germany; www.bayermaterialscience.com) is lending its might to this movement with the development of LEDA compounded colour technology. The Rx Medical line of LEDA colours and special effects for use with its Makrolon PC and Bayblend PC/ABS resins can help designers break the beige and white barriers of the medical mind-set, according to BMS.
Makrolon polycarbonate resins containing the four new Rx Medical colours are ISO 10993-1 compliant. The materials’ proven biocompatibility makes them suitable for use in drug-delivery devices and surgical instrument components, to name but two examples. “The medical industry has been clamouring for a fresh palette of colours, but designers have been hamstrung by the lack of ISO-compliant options,” says John Skabardonis, polycarbonates marketing manager for North America.
The quartet of Rx Medical colours include Electro, a medium blue tempered with grey; First Aid, which is described as a whimsical take on beige; Stat, a red, purple, and grey blend; and X-Ray, a take on the standard issue bleach-white colour modernized with a hint of grey.
While the Rx Medical family of colours can be completely customized, the understated mood and muted palette of these four shades reflects the greying of the fashion colour spectrum, according to Skabardonis. “There is a strong trend emerging from the latest Colour Marketing Group palettes that indicates really bright colours are starting to diminish in importance,” he notes. More subdued hues will be making their presence felt in 2009 and beyond, he adds. Including, perhaps, in the OR.
For more information, contact BayerMaterial-Science AG, Postfach, D-51368 Leverkusen, Germany; phone: +49 214 301; Internet: www.bayermaterialscience.com.
