Volume 3, Issue2

“The New World of Medical Textiles”
Martin King, Ph.D.

Welcome to this issue, “The New World of Medical Textiles,” Journal of Textile and Apparel Management (JTATM)! As the global population ages and new medical advances are continually needed, new product development and market opportunities exist for the area of medical textiles. This issue provides information about the development of medical textile products and processes, managerial issues surrounding this important area, as well as details about the medical textiles curriculum at NCSU College of Textiles.

Medical textiles applications are diverse! Medical textiles include products such as bandages, artificial vascular grafts to replace or bypass damaged arteries, mesh fabrics for hernia repair, heart valves, urinary bladder support slings, cardiac support devices, pressure garments, and prosthetic disc nuclei for treating spinal disc degradation.

Our College of Textiles’ faculty is actively teaching and researching areas related to medical textiles.

Left to right: Richard Kotek, Roger Barker, Blanton Godfrey, B.S. Gupta, Hechmi Hamouda, Sam Hudson, Gary Smith (back), Marion McCord, Alan Tonelli, Wendy Krause, Kristin Barletta and Martin King

The College’s focus on medical textiles plays an integral role in the recently announced biomedical initiative at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (RESULTS). A specific example of ongoing research highlighted in this publication is "Weaving Innovation With Anatomy."

We hope that you are able to learn more about this important textile product --- and invite you to pass along this issue (electronically!) to others that may be interested!