FALL RIVER, Mass. — November 15, 2021 — Bolger & O’Hearn’s Chief Technology Officer Frank Keohan will deliver a presentation titled “New Challenges and Opportunities for Reusable Medical Textiles” at the AATCC Textile Discovery Summit Week of Celebration in Durham, North Carolina, November 15-18. His talk takes place Wednesday, November 17, 2021, at 4:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham, N.C.
Following his presentation, Keohan will participate in a panel discussion at the Summit titled Protective Textiles for the Future moderated by Bob Monticello of the International Antimicrobial Council. The presentation and panel discussion are part of a General Session held Wednesday afternoon devoted to manufacturing protective textiles.
Keohan’s 4:30 talk will review factors involved with making reusable medical personal protective equipment (PPE) in the United States. Prior to the pandemic, China controlled as much as 85 percent of the U.S. medical PPE market. The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted the global medical textile industry in terms of manufacturing, material supply chains and protective textile performance. In turn, new opportunities and collaborations emerged related to bringing more of that production back to US shores.
In 2020 and in 2021, Bolger & O’Hearn helped several textile companies convert U.S.-based manufacturing operations to the production of Medical PPE. Keohan will discuss the properties required for the more critical forms of PPE, such as medical masks and isolation gowns. High resistance to hydrostatic pressure, water impact and different fluids are important in the manufacturing of FDA-compliant PPE products and Keohan’s discussion will include the role of durable water repellent (DWR)-finishes for meeting US-FDA requirements for multi-layer, Level 1-4 medical PPE barrier specifications.
Posted November 15, 2021
Source: Bolger & O’Hearn
