Medical tubing has been a critical and essential part of healthcare in the 21st century. These tubes help us deliver nutrients, blood and gases to patients who are in need of medical attention. As the years have gone by manufacturers have developed highly sophisticated tubes that have helped heal and save countless lives. Careful attention is placed on the development of these items to ensure they are safe to use in medical settings.

The typical medical grade tubing usually consists of non-toxic, lead free tubing that is also resistant to high temperature. The tubing must be approved by the FDA as well as be medically approved before entering the market to be purchased. To be approved they must pass strict quality tests and even after the initial test they are examined by continuous inspections. Veterinary medical fields also use tubing which must pass strict inspections as well.

Extruded tubing dates all the way back to the early 1930s. During this period of time catheters were in their infancy as was medical tubing. Over time as the technology behind catheters and tubing increased, so did the demand. This created a boom in business for the extrusion industry.

To accurately test these tubes, force testing must be completed. This testing is designed to help secure the functionality and consistency of the tubes. When tested a simple method of qualifying the devices mechanical characteristics takes place. These qualifications help aid the optimization of performance and conformance to regulated international standards. In the production stages of testing it provides a quick and inexpensive way of ensuring consistent quality. This helps prevent problems that could have damaging effects to a patient during future use. In addition, if a failure in the field is detected and proper testing was not completed, this could have serious monetary repercussions for the medical tubing manufacturer.

Medical tubing has had its share of issues over the years as well. Today manufacturers are still working together to come up with solutions to prevent tube mix ups. Ideally to prevent these mix ups major manufacturers need to come together and create devices that make certain connections incompatible with each other. A good example of this incompatibility theory can be found within the petroleum industry. Petroleum producers prevent certain types of gas from flowing into the incorrect kind of tank by using various types of pump nozzles for gasoline and diesel fuel. Hopefully in the future manufacturers can all work together to solve this issue.