Graham Kershaw, managing director, Macpac discusses the benefits of thermoformed PET packaging solutions for the medical device and drug delivery industry.
Macpac
When a healthcare professional or patient reaches for a pack containing vital medical devices or pharmaceutical products, it must be perfectly designed to give the most efficient access to the contents - whether in surgery, pharmacy, care facility or home environment. It needs to be safe, clean, hygienic, and meet sterility requirements whilst also easy to produce, pack, transport, and store.
Manufacturers of medical devices and pharmaceutical products are increasingly looking for scalable thermoformed PET packaging solutions that accelerate product development, simplify production processes, and help bring products to market as quickly as possible.
Thermoforming has become a popular way of creating bespoke medical device packaging. Due to its versatility, plastic packs can be specially designed for small units or larger, more complex items. Thermoformed packaging is durable, resilient, and tamper-resistant, and can incorporate several seal options that offer security yet allow easy access.
What is thermoforming?
Thermoforming is a fully automated process which involves heating a sheet of thermoplastic until it is pliable and by the use of vacuum and pressure can be formed into different shapes using bespoke tooling moulds. Formed products are then cut and stacked inline without the aid of human contact before being packed ready to ship. The special requirements for medical packaging have led to increased adoption of thermoforming as a more cost-effective solution due to tooling costs being lower than alternative solutions.
Fully automated thermoforming machinery offers high levels of precision and control for high quality solutions with consistent repeatability of high cutting tolerances and material distribution, all while generating less waste.
Monitored dosage systems
An example of high-volume thermoformed solutions is Monitored Dosage Systems (MDS); where patient safety is essential, such packs offer enhanced protection for medication whilst being easy to use for elderly or infirm patients. They allow nurses or carers to instantly assess that medication has been correctly taken typically over a period of a week or a month whilst dramatically minimising drug wastage, which offers huge cost savings.
Creating designs and taking them from initial concept to high volume production is the flexibility that thermoforming offers to the medical industry. Unlike pouches, bags or boxes, custom-designed thermoformed trays offer product protection during transport, handling and point of use. Packs can be designed in various sizes and with different cavity shapes and compartments, helping to keep them separate and stable.
Thermoforming applications
A common application which illustrates thermoforming’s greatest strengths are trays to hold specific items designed to permit a medical intervention in hospital operating theatres. It is essential that a surgeon has all the necessary devices quickly at hand which can easily be used in a specific sequence and then replaced so that no steps are missed or overlooked.
Multiple devices are typically held in specifically designed cavities which hold them in exact positions to permit the surgeon to pick up with minimum effort whilst completely protecting the product during transit before it arrives at its critical use. Such trays often require sterilisation at the production manufacturers before arriving in theatre. The choice of the correct materials to use is essential to good design so that goods can be gamma irradiated or EO sterilised.
Thermoforming development
Thermoforming development typically starts by clients submitting a design brief which is taken on by CAD designers to visualise the requirement before moving to initial prototyping for form and fit of products. Once this stage has been passed and tolerances have been agreed, then development can move towards small scale production trials for production verification and automation trials, before scaling up to full scale production.
It is essential that, during the early stages of product development, critical design choices are made to choose packaging solutions that will optimise the manufacturing processes and appeal to consumers.
Thinking green
Thermoforming can be highly sustainable both in terms of production and materials. Thermoformed packaging manufacturers should follow environmentally friendly practices like recycling and incorporate sustainable materials such as r-PET (recycled PET) into designs.
As part of its sustainability commitment, Macpac optimises pack size, incorporates r-PET in 97% of its products, uses clamshell instead of lidding film, uses detectable colours that can be recycled and reduces weight by downgauging the material used by clever design at the front end of the development.