According to American research firm Nanomarkets, which specialises in the sectors of materials and advanced technologies, global demand for polymers for use in medical applications could reach the 3.5 billion dollar mark by the end of 2018, rising from the current level of around 2.3 billion. In this setting, systems made from plastic materials could be worth 1.6 billion dollars, and diagnostic systems more than 1 billion.
The polymers most widely used are acrylic and styrenic ones and polypropylene, while materials offering greater surface comfort should find an increasingly wide range of applications.