ABSTRACT
America spent $425 billion on health care in 1985 an amount equal to 10.7 percent of the gross national product. In 1991 health care expenditures are expected to rise to nearly 12 percent of the gross national product.
Pressures to contain health care costs and improve product performance are spurring new product development and creating new opportunities for medical plastics. Plastics are found in implants and components, medical instruments and equipment, packaging materials and a wide variety of disposable products.
The advent of synthetic polymers has changed the entire character of health care delivery. Polymers originally developed for commercial use are now qualified for implantable prostheses, thus opening the way for pacemakers, vascular grafts, artificial skin and artificial hearts. This chapter summarizes those medical devices in which synthetic biomaterials play a dominant role.
