As medical devices become smaller, smarter, and more connected, pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes play an increasingly important role in their design. From diagnostic electrodes and wearable sensors to fluid-management components and device housings, tapes can replace mechanical fasteners, simplify assembly, reduce device weight, and improve patient comfort.
However, selecting a tape for a medical application requires more than finding an adhesive that sticks. Designers must consider skin contact, wear time, moisture exposure, conformability, device materials, manufacturing processes, and the stresses the finished product will encounter.
Adhesive Applications offers a range of medical-grade foam, acrylic film, silicone, and silicone/acrylic tapes that can be customized and converted for medical devices and wearable technologies.
Tapes for Skin-Contact Wearable Devices
Wearable medical devices must remain securely attached while the patient moves, sweats, sleeps, and completes normal daily activities. At the same time, the adhesive system must be comfortable and conformable enough to follow the body’s contours.
The AMF medical foam tape family is designed for applications requiring direct skin contact and a cushioned, conformable construction. These tapes use closed-cell, crosslinked polyethylene foam coated with a medical-grade acrylic adhesive.
Available thicknesses include:
- AMF32B and AMF32B-1: 1/32-inch medical foam tapes
- AMF16B and AMF16B-1: 1/16-inch medical foam tapes
- AMF08B and AMF08B-1: 1/8-inch medical foam tapes
Single-coated and double-coated options allow designers to select the appropriate construction for the device. A single-coated tape may be used as a skin-contact patch or cushioning layer, while a double-coated tape can attach a device component to the foam on one side and the foam to the patient on the other.
The AMF products provide a strong, moisture-resistant bond and are designed to adhere to skin for up to 48 hours. Their foam carriers provide cushioning and conformability while helping the tape resist lifting when the device is placed under stress. The medical-grade acrylic adhesive passes Primary Skin Irritation testing per ISO 10993-10 and Cytotoxicity testing per ISO 10993-5.
Typical applications include wearable sensors, diagnostic electrodes, grounding pads, patient-monitoring devices, and short-term medical patches.
Thin Film Tapes for Medical Device Assembly
Not every medical tape application involves direct skin contact. Thin film tapes are commonly used inside devices to mount components, attach foams, seal housings, laminate materials, or bond flexible assemblies.
A530DC is a 6.5-mil double-coated polyester film tape featuring an aggressive acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive. It provides high peel and tack with good shear properties and bonds to materials commonly found in medical devices, including foams, plastics, metals, glass, ceramics, and composite materials.
Because of its polyester carrier, A530DC offers dimensional stability while remaining thin enough for compact assemblies. It is also resistant to ultraviolet light, temperature, and moisture. The adhesive passes Primary Skin Irritation testing per ISO 10993-10 and Cytotoxicity testing per ISO 10993-5.
For applications where appearance or opacity matters, A530DCW provides a similar construction with a white acrylic adhesive. Potential applications include attaching foam components, assembling diagnostic equipment, mounting internal sensors, and bonding layers within disposable or reusable medical products.
Bonding Silicone Components
Silicone is frequently used in medical devices because of its flexibility, temperature resistance, and suitability for demanding environments. Unfortunately, silicone is also a low-surface-energy material that can be difficult to bond with conventional acrylic adhesives.
Adhesive Applications’ silicone/acrylic tapes help solve this challenge.
SA1020 and SA1060 are double-coated polyester tapes featuring a silicone adhesive on one side and an acrylic adhesive on the other. The silicone side is designed to bond to silicone and other low-surface-energy materials, while the acrylic side bonds to a broader range of conventional substrates.
This construction is especially valuable when attaching silicone rubber, silicone foam, or molded silicone components to plastics, metals, films, or device housings. Both adhesive systems used on SA1060 and SA1911 pass Primary Skin Irritation testing per ISO 10993-10 and Cytotoxicity testing per ISO 10993-5.
Potential uses include silicone wearable components, device seals, flexible medical assemblies, microfluidic devices, and applications requiring the bonding of dissimilar materials.
Designing the Complete Adhesive Solution
The correct tape depends on the complete application—not simply the device category. Important considerations include the substrates being bonded, required wear time, skin sensitivity, environmental exposure, sterilization method, device geometry, and whether the tape must be die cut into a custom shape.
Adhesive Applications can support slitting, laminating, die cutting, and other converting requirements to help manufacturers integrate tape into their production processes. Custom shapes, tabs, multilayer constructions, and application-friendly liners can make assembly faster and more repeatable.
Whether the project involves a wearable sensor, electrode, silicone component, diagnostic device, or internal assembly, early collaboration with an adhesive specialist can help identify the most appropriate construction and reduce costly redesigns.
Customer Applications Drive Us. Contact Adhesive Applications to discuss your medical device or wearable application and request samples for evaluation.