Application of carbon fiber composites in medical devices

The light weight and excellent mechanical properties of carbon fiber composites make them widely used in the field of medical devices where the manufacturing process is quite demanding. As carbon fiber related technologies mature, carbon fiber composites are now being accepted by more medical device manufacturers.

Today we will list several common carbon fiber medical device products to see the application of carbon fiber composite materials in medical devices.

Carbon fiber prosthesis

The linking transmitting part of the prosthesis to the human body is called the receiving cavity, which primarily wraps the stump and transmits strength. Carbon fiber material can also be used to make this part, which requires a high load bearing and cannot be too heavy. Polyethylene sheeting can be used for the part that contains the limb, and carbon fiber can be used to create the frame structure for easy support and transfer of strength.

The ankle and foot movement of the human body has a key role in the balance and support of the body, the ankle joint made of carbon fiber can realize the jumping function of the human body, and the articulation of the ankle and calf prosthesis can also be realized with carbon fiber, and the overall production is very beautiful.

Carbon fiber medical panel

The use of carbon fiber in medical bed panels is arguably more numerous. In CT diagnosis and radiation therapy, it is important that the dose of radiation reaches the patient's lesion accurately. Carbon fiber composites are widely used in X-ray digital machine, PET machine, CT machine, MR machine, SPECT machine; radiotherapy has rapidly evolved from conventional radiotherapy to IMRT, IGRT, IMAT, etc. These new radiotherapy technologies have greatly improved the dose accuracy and also put higher requirements on the bed surface of the treatment machine.

The bed panel is made of carbon fiber composite material with smooth and flat surface and high X-ray transmission rate; and allows the rays to shine on the bed panel at any inclination without large deviations in refraction and projection rays, and uses less material to achieve the design structural strength, rigidity, reduced weight and high tensile strength.

Carbon fibre wheelchair

The density of carbon fiber is only 1.7g/cm3, the same specification of accessories is more than half lighter than aluminum alloy, but much stronger, in addition, carbon fiber also has a strong corrosion resistance, a significant percentage of wheelchair patients face problems such as incontinence and frequent contact with injections and drops, in this case, carbon fiber composite parts show the durability of ordinary metal materials can not be matched.

At present, carbon fiber composite materials are mainly used in armrests, arm rests, foot rests, leg rests, backrests, apron panels and frame tubes and other accessories, most of which can be adjusted in height, carbon fiber composite materials are easy to be assembled with the wheelchair by mechanical connection.

Take the electric wheelchair accessories as an example, the whole weight of the electric wheelchair using carbon fiber composite material is only 14kg, which is about 33% less than the 21kg of the traditional aluminum alloy electric wheelchair; in terms of weight bearing, the traditional aluminum alloy wheelchair can carry 100kg, while the electric wheelchair using carbon fiber material can carry 200kg, which is suitable for more people; in terms of the most concerned about the range, thanks to the lightweight characteristics of carbon fiber, the carbon fiber electric wheelchair can drive 40km on a single charge, the maximum speed can reach 8km/h, while the traditional electric wheelchair driving distance is only 20km, the driving distance has increased by 50%, compared with the traditional wheelchair accessories material, the electric wheelchair using carbon fiber material has greatly improved in all aspects.

With advances in science and technology, the use of carbon fiber has become diverse. Due to the excellent performance of carbon fiber composite materials, it is inevitable to become mainstream in medical device materials, composite companies also follow the trend to optimize their own technology, to provide more high-quality carbon fiber medical device products.