What are ribbon pouches and their uses?

 Medical device packaging is considered as the arrangement of different material together that surrounds the pharmaceutical product to protect it from the external damage from its production until it is ready to use. 

Packaging medical products and device is a crucial task as it is responsible for providing life-saving drugs, medical devices, medical treatments, and new products like medical Nutritionals in proper condition. 

The medical packaging market is constantly updating and advancing itself and has experienced tremendous growth in the past few years. The market is believed to be worth over $20 billion a year. 

Similar to other products, medical devices also require packaging solutions that deliver a combination of product protection, quality, tamper evidence, patient comfort and security needs. 

Constant innovations in the pharmaceuticals themselves such as, blow fill seal (BFS) vials, anti-counterfeit measures, plasma impulse chemical vapour deposition (PICVD) coating technology, snap off ampoules, unit dose vials, two-in-one prefilled vial design, prefilled syringes and child-resistant packs have a direct impact on the packaging.

There are strict regulations that medical and healthcare sectors have to comply with when it comes to their tamper-proof packaging system and transfers of life-saving medicines and drugs. 

The bags in which devices or medicines are being packed must comply with the regulatory standard set by the concerned authorities. They do not have to take care of packaging only but also of the disposal of such plastic and sterilised bags. There are a number of plastic medical bags or pharmacy bags used in healthcare sectors for various applications ranging from dressing disposal waste bags, specimen bags, and adhesive closure bags to bedside and respiratory setup bags.

Among these, Ribbon bags or breather bags are also used frequently in medical device packaging. 

Breather bags are usually transparent pouches that are made out of polyester films. Polyester provides rigidity to the pouch. Breather bags are made out of Polyester and Polyethylene film. Ribbon pouch are also made up of BOPP, CPP and nylon film and having Tyvek/Medical grade paper ribbon strip that makes the breather bags puncture-resistant and Tyvek/Medical paper acts as an effective Barrier to prevent gas seeping inside the packet.

There’s a medical-grade paper ribbon inserted within a pouch that enables the ethylene oxide gas to penetrate inside the package and sterilize the medical devices. These pouches also come with a tear notch at one end that provides an easy opening. These pouches are one of the most universally used and cost-effective packaging solutions for the packaging of medical devices.

These ribbon pouches are also extremely suitable for the packaging of surgical instruments and medical devices. These pouches offer high visibility for medical products and have excellent porosity for enhanced sterilization cycle times. The advantage of breather bags is that they can be printed in multicolour according to the needs and requirements of manufacturers.