The influx of coronavirus patients has caused the medical industry to heavily rely on the production of rubber parts and seals to cope with this current healthcare crisis. To be eligible for use in healthcare, these medical-grade seals have to meet high FDA and ISO standards, as well as undergo rigorous testing.

Medical grade seals are critical in a wide range of life-saving and health improving applications that have enhanced the medical industry as a whole. Let’s take a closer look at how these seals and devices are being utilized during this health crisis now.

Personal Protective Equipment

The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has led to a drastic increase in the demand for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the medical industry. Medical grade seals play a huge role in the effectiveness of PPE where there is a significant requirement for sealing against harmful bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens to protect healthcare workers and their patients from being infected and infecting others. At the moment PPE is necessary for reducing the spread of COVID-19

Medical grade seals are essential for proper shielding and protection against contamination. For long term usage, advanced protective gear that depend on medical-grade seals include:

• Powered and supplied air respiratory protection
• Vented
• Eyeshields
• Half/Full face respirator

Ventilators and Medical Devices

Other medical equipments that have high utility at the moment are ventilators and testing devices. This medical equipment require many rubber parts and seals for engineering. Medical grade seals in ventilators and other equipment must be biologically compatible with the environment to comply with FDA regulations and to be suitable for patient use.

Biocompatibility is a term used to describe the ability of a material to perform properly by exhibiting superior compatibility with human tissue and body fluids and an extremely low tissue response when implanted. For example, silicones are odorless and tasteless, they do not support bacteria growth and stain or corrode other materials. In ventilators, this is extremely important to avoid further complications and disruptions with treatment.

In addition to producing parts and seals for ventilators and testing devices, Harkesh Rubber medical seals are also designed for a variety of other medical applications that are still needed right now, such as medical pumps, IV components, feeding devices, and implants.

Harkesh Rubber has experience in designing and a broad range of medical rubber components for use in pharmaceutical manufacturing, diagnostic and surgical instruments, and other non-implantable medical devices. Our team of application engineers have extensive experience in engineering custom solutions for many different medical/life science technologies. Get in touch with our team.