TABLE OF CONTENTS It is rather unusual to start a chapter by listing the topics one is not going to include. However, it is evident that, within the definition of "Contact Applications", there are numerous devices which may come into contact with the body, but do so for such a short time that we can safely ignore them. Many of these items are disposable, and are made from plastic materials, and include for example: bedpans, urine bottles, specimen containers, plates, glasses and cutlery, wrappings and gloves. It is interesting to note in the last instance, that many hospitals and surgeries certainly in the United Kingdom no longer use latex gloves, since they are alleged to cause asthma in some patients. There is also the tremendous range of medical devices, diagnostic kits, machines and their attachments which are essential to modern medicine.
Now to what I shall include. In this chapter, so as to follow a logical sequence, we must consider the range of medical applications where the material in question is simply applied to the surface of parts of the body to achieve a specific function.
These include: supports (eg splints and plaster casts), dressings, contact lenses and hearing aids. The list is extensive, but as many of the materials are similar, and can be used for a many different applications I propose to deal only with a selection of the most typical.
In simple contact applications of this type, the hope is that, provided the device or appliance is correctly designed and fitted, the...
