Join JBC Technologies in Anaheim at MD&M West February 6-8, 2024

Adhesive Selection for Disposable Pulse Ox Applications - Part 1

As we have discussed in previous blog posts, there are many applications for die cut skin contact adhesives. Today’s focus is on disposable pulse oximetry tape applications.   

Short- vs. Long-term Wear Stick-to-Skin Adhesives

How do you select the right pressure-sensitive adhesive for your stick-to-skin application? Balancing adhesion strength, breathability, conformability, and removability, along with end-use wear time needs - it can be tricky. Short-term wear stick-to-skin adhesives may need but a few minutes or a few days to be effective while long-term wear could mean as much as a month. Let's see some of the different applications for short- and long-term wear stick-to-skin adhesives and take a look at what medical device design engineers should consider when selecting carriers and adhesives for on-body applications.

Selection Criteria for Skin Contact Adhesives

Selecting a stick-to-skin (skin-contact) adhesive is different from choosing an industrial pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA). Unlike static substrates such as foam, metals, plastic, felts and foils, the skin is a living, breathing substrate. It is highly elastic and can change over time as cell cycles renew frequently. This post, prepared with the help of some of our vendor partners, examines some factors to consider when selecting a skin contact adhesive for your wearable medical device or health and beauty product.

10 Medical Uses for Differential Double-Sided Adhesive Tape

Differential double-sided adhesive tapes are a great way to bond two very different materials - think foam to glass or steel to plastic - and their versatility makes them a popular choice in industries like electronics and automotive. This two-faced approach to adhesive tape bonding makes differential tape the perfect choice for bonding two materials with significantly different surface characteristics. It's also the main reason you'd probably choose to use a differential tape in the first place. In this post, we turn our attention to some of the most common ways that you'll find differential adhesive tapes being used for medical applications.

3M™ Medical Tape 4576 for Long-Term Stick-to-Skin Applications

Wearable medical devices such as continuous glucose monitors, drug delivery systems, and more require a new type of adhesive that can remain on the skin for an extended period of time. We recently spoke with Audrey Sherman, Division Scientist, 3M™ Medical Solutions Division and Del Lawson, Medical Materials & Technologies Laboratory Manager, 3M™ Medical Solutions Division to discuss the development of their new extended wear medical tape 4576.

Die-Cut Performance Material Spotlight: FLEXcon® OMNI-WAVE™

As a continuation of our series spotlighting the innovative materials offered by our key suppliers, today we are highlighting FLEXcon’s OMNI-WAVE™, a skin-friendly medical grade conductive adhesive that is free of hydrogel or Ag/AgC. This Q&A features insights from Aditi Subramanian, Strategic Business Unit Manager of Healthcare for FLEXcon®.