Custom Medical Packaging — A Highly Specialized Product Category

Packaging designed for medical and other health-related products must meet stringent government and industry standards to ensure adequate protection of sensitive devices and instruments and guarantee sterility of a variety of crucial medical supplies. Because the products for which custom medical packaging is designed have such sensitive medical uses, their integrity and dependability must be adequately assured. Therefore, rigorous quality management protocols are critical to the manufacture of these protective products which keep the items people depend on for their health and medical treatment free from damage and contamination. To facilitate the health and safety of the patients who use the products they protect, medical packagers are subject to exacting quality management testing and certification, including numerous ISO certifications, which assess general operational as well as clean room conditions.

Materials Typically Used

Some materials used to manufacture custom medical packaging are polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, polycarbonate, PVC, HDPE, PETG, and Aclar. The material chosen for a specific application depends in part on the sterilization method to which the item will be subjected, as well as the specific characteristics of the item and the way it will react to a given type of material. It also depends on whether or not the item will need extra protection from the elements or from temperature extremes during shipping or storage. Materials used for covers are coated paper, coated Tyvek®, and foil lidstock. Pouches can be made of either polymylar or foil. Pouches are used together with clamshell-type packaging to reliably maintain sterility. From flexible to rigid, there exists an appropriate raw material, industrial process, and finished product that will provide dependable protection and superior presentation for every medical supply imaginable.

Custom Medical Packaging Techniques

Some techniques used in fabricating these specialized packages are custom foam molding, custom plastic fabrication, custom plastic molding, plastic vacuum forming, and plastic pressure forming. Each of these highly precise manufacturing techniques utilizes a carefully developed process that yields high-performance custom packing products for medical, pharmaceutical, and other specialized applications. Blister packs, specially contoured blisters, several different types of clamshells, and thermoformed plastic trays and inserts can all provide customized solutions to fit each specific medical application.

Medical Kitting

One specialized custom medical packaging solution is medical kitting, which requires great care and precision in handling sets of diverse products that must be assembled and packaged together under highly regulated conditions. Such kits generally include a medical device, as well as all other materials and components required for its use. Devices are first inspected to be sure they are clean and free from visible damage. They are then stored in a protective quarantine cabinet where they await the next kitting job. Once released – in very limited quantities to ensure adequate controls – they are assembled using state-of-the-art methods and strict ongoing controls throughout the process. Link back to the Custom Medical Packaging page. Visit our main page for other packaging solutions.