Opportunities during this economic downturn
The Breastlight in-home diagnostic device from PWB Health Ltd. allows women to perform breast exams at home. The portable device, made using Sabic compounds for the lens and housing, is one example of the rising demand for home health-care products.
PolyOne is in discussions with six or seven other companies on marketing partnerships, according to Johnson. "These companies still need to market even though they have downsized, so companies have asked us to form partnerships to market their products in health care," he said. Pressures to lower costs -- always present in the medical industry -- have accelerated because of the economy, providing materials suppliers with yet another boost. "Everyone is looking to take costs out, to make products lighter-weight and smaller, to use materials that reduce risks, and for products that increase the speed or throughput in providing hospital services," said Thomas O'Brien, industry manager for health care for Sabic Innovative Plastics US LLC in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. That creates the opportunity for material suppliers to provide resins for more in-home diagnostic devices, such as the Breastlight from Dumbarton, Scotland-based PWB Health Ltd., which uses Sabic compounds for the lens and housing and allows women to perform breast exams at home. The product is approved in Europe and Canada and is awaiting U.S. approval. "Home health care is really explosive," O'Brien said. "Things are becoming smaller and becoming more portable. It is all about throughput. Hospitals want to turn around patient care quicker and send people home with a portable testing or care device. The health-care trend is from in-patient to out-patient care and to devices that are portable, reliable, lightweight, durable and attractive. " Plastics News, 03/02/09, p. 9 (PDF).
Nice one Lew
Posted by: Greg Koski | March 28, 2009 at 04:00 PM