Governments and medical industry leaders are taking action to aid patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – the third leading cause of death worldwide. Although widespread vaccination against COVID-19 has lowered the number of ICU patients who need to be put on respiratory support, the rising rate of COPD continues to drive up the need for mechanical ventilators each year. Between 2022 and 2030, the market for these devices is estimated to see a compound annual growth rate of 4.8%.
Approximately 2 million hospital patients placed on mechanical ventilators each year are expected to develop ventilator acquired pneumonia (VAP), which has a mortality rate of up to 13% in the US. Respiratory tubing is prone to building up condensate and creating a risk of microaspiration. Bacteria-filled microdroplets can be re-aspirated back into the lungs and increase the patient’s likelihood of developing VAP – a risk that increases the longer someone needs to be intubated and undergo continuous mechanical ventilation.
To address this issue, ventilators are often designed with moisture condensation traps that help prevent fluid from building up. However, in addition to creating more work for nurses and clinicians, opening a breathing circuit to drain this trap also increases the risk of bacteria-laden fluid that collects above the endotracheal tube (ET) leaking past the cuff and entering the lungs.
Polyolefin materials, which are most commonly used to manufacture respiratory tubing, don’t allow condensate to escape. Ventilator tubing developers stand to gain a competitive advantage by leveraging a copolyester elastomer material capable of transporting moisture out through the tube wall to the ambient environment. This approach to mitigating rainout can significantly minimize condensation and may eliminate the need for a moisture trap altogether – lowering the risk of VAP, simplifying breathing circuit designs and driving cost savings.
Envalior’s Arnitel® VT material solutions respond to ongoing challenges and changing requirements that medical device suppliers face. With the performance characteristics of high-strength rubber combined with outstanding flexibility, the thermoplastic elastomer compound is optimized for medical tubing applications designed for high-stress clinical settings and offers:
- Unmatched moisture vapour transmission rate (MVTR) for enhanced material breathability
- Fast-acting water absorption rate
- Extreme durability and tensile elongation greater than 500%
- Superior elasticity and kink resistance
- High melting temperature of 210°C to prevent tube deformation
- Excellent processing capabilities to produce lightweight, low density, ultra-thin membranes
- 100% recyclable polyester-based chemistry
- Compliance with FDA food contact, USP Class VI, ISO 10993-5 and ISO 10993-10 standards
- High purity to minimize extractable and leachable substances and volatile organic compounds (VOC) per ISO 18562
