Plastics in Medicine: Safe, Innovative, Efficient

Materials Plastics: A Material for Safe Medical Care

2026-10-09 A guest post by Claudia Wörner* | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

Of every ten medical products and devices used in hospitals, doctors’ offices, or daily nursing care, five to six are made of plastic. Syringes, cannulas, tubing, implants, or packaging—without this material, modern hygiene, innovation, and efficiency in medicine would hardly be possible.

The importance of plastics in medicine has steadily increased over the past few decades—they are used in a wide variety of applications.(Image: © Titolino - stock.adobe.com) — The importance of plastics in medicine has steadily increased over the past few decades—they are used in a wide variety of applications.
(Image: © Titolino - stock.adobe.com)

“About 50 to 60 percent of all medical devices are made of plastic,” notes the German Medical Technology Association (BV-Med). This figure illustrates just how central a role plastic plays in the healthcare sector. “The importance of plastics in medicine has steadily increased over the past few decades. They are used in a wide range of applications, including disposable items, implants, packaging, and medical devices,” says Manfred C. Beeres, spokesperson for BV-Med.

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