
The convergence of healthcare and consumer electronics
Meeting the needs of the diabetes community
In 2019, diabetes was estimated to affect 463 million people, and the prevalence of this chronic disease is spurring healthcare companies to innovate their diagnostic devices. Over the last 5 years, wearable Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) have become the diagnostic device of choice, replacing traditional finger stick blood glucose measurement. As these devices become more prevalent, we expect that their design will become influenced by consumer fashion, turning them from unobtrusive objects to body jewelry.


The importance of polycarbonate
For many years, Covestro Makrolon® polycarbonate has been the material of choice for medical devices. Thanks to its toughness, transparency, biocompatibility, and sterilizability it has been successfully used in devices designed to monitor and treat diabetes. As CGMs have become smaller, thin wall precision molding of polycarbonate has become critical to creating innovative, cost effective designs. These concepts demonstrate the colorability of polycarbonate which allows for housings in a rainbow of colors and effects.
Key Benefits
- Medical-grade Makrolon® polycarbonate is tough and durable.
- Medical-grade Makrolon® polycarbonate is biocompatible according to ISO 10993-1 and USP Class VI standards.
- Medical-grade Makrolon® polycarbonate can be sterilized using a variety of methods.
- Medical-grade Makrolon® polycarbonate is dimensionally stable under different application environments.
- Medical-grade Makrolon® polycarbonate is available in a variety of colors.