With such rapid advances in the medical industry, medical tubing manufacturers recognize the unique opportunity to partner with their customers to develop new medical tubing products.
It may not be the first time in history that innovation has necessitated this type of collaboration between a manufacturer and a designer. But when it comes to delivering superior healthcare, the partnership between a medical tubing company and its customers is paramount to success as the complexity of medical procedures keeps changing.
As stated, the impetus for a medical tubing manufacturing company to get involved with design engineers at the development level arises out advancements made in the medical profession. This requires the continual development of more sophisticated, high performing medical devices, surgical instruments, and other specialty medical equipment; which in turn requires more complex medical tubes that are used for the particular application.
Thus, the role of the medical tubing manufacturer becomes two-fold: To manufacture the customers’ medical tubing product; and to also ensure that the medical tube can be manufactured to its specifications and still perform reliably.
Often times design engineers have very creative and complex design ideas for medical tubes that can push the limitations of the properties of the thermoplastic being used. In other words, the medical tubing manufacturer has to insert themselves at the early stages of development to guide the customer to select the right material, configuration, tolerance, etc. so that the medical tube functions in accordance with its requirements.
And when and if the original custom tubing product fails, the medical tubing supplier will recommend ways to improve the design until it works properly. It’s an ongoing cycle of innovation.