Medical & Surgical
Wearables & Healthcare
Materiality is rising to the forefront in some of the latest research and development in wearables for healthcare applications. The Wearables Collective symposium co-hosted by the Royal College of Art and UC Davis held in March 2024 highlighted this, looking at the motivations and case studies across North America, Europe and Asia. A number of …
Devices That Can Extend Health and Profits
Global life expectancy has risen to 71.7 years in 2022 (from 64.5 years in 1950) and is set to rise further to 77.3 years by 2050 according to figures from the United Nations Population Division. Access to healthcare and medical advances are key contributing factors with countries spending most on healthcare tending to have higher …
Nanocomposites: Self-disinfecting Fabrics
Crescoating Infuses Textiles with Antimicrobial Properties That Don’t Wash Out The paradox of hospitalization is that the very places patients go to improve their health can make them sick. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a major public health threat in the United States, with one in 31 patients getting infected during or after receiving treatment in …
Challenges in Making Smart Clothing Accessible for Healthcare
Medical Smart Textiles and Wearable Health Devices Aren’t Yet Affordable for the Mass Consumer Market Many in the medical profession have argued that healthcare should move away from its current reactive and disease-centric system to a more personalized, predictive, preventative and participatory model with a focus on disease prevention and health promotion. As part of …
Man-made fibers still dominate advanced medical textiles
Sustainability has yet to make an impact in terms of materials and circularity. Textiles are widely used in medical, surgical and other healthcare applications, including first aid and clinical settings, ranging from surgical gowns and drapes, compression garments and fracture management products, to more sophisticated items, such as advanced wound dressings, surgical sutures, vascular grafts …