Biomimicry inspires medical textiles
Medtextra technology can be used with both natural and synthetic yarns with as little as 5 percent bringing value to the fabric. Photo: Medtextra
With much of the discussion of smart textiles focusing on e-textiles at present, it is good to be reminded that there are innovative developments emerging in non-digital yarns also. MedTextra is a filtration and health-giving yarn that uses a unique moisturizing process to deliver active ingredients to the body based on biomimicry principles.
The brainchild of David Gray, the idea for the yarn came about when his wife was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and he observed how few chemotherapy patients wore or were protected from viruses in any of the public settings. Beyond getting over the stigmatized hesitancy of Americans to wear protective face masks, Gray gathered a team of scientists, textile engineers, and test labs to develop a yarn technology that can be used in nonwovens for face masks and beyond that in other textile structures to deliver potential benefit in wellbeing, leisure, cosmetics and other markets.
Presenting at IFAI EXPO 2017, MedTextra LLC is now looking for partnership or licensing opportunities to bring this to market. Interest quickly emerged from yarn manufacturers as well as from medical device and fashion designers who saw the potential for the yarn as a solution provider.
by Marie O’Mahoney
