From their first appearance as sutures more than 4000 yearsago to their present use in products ranging from gowns and wound dressings toarterial and skin grafts, textile materials have been explored as potentialmaterials for novel applications in medicine and surgery. This continuousinterest has its basis in the unique properties of fibres which in manyrespects resemble biological materials and in their ability to be convertedinto a wide array of desired end products.

Technical textiles are one of the faster growing sectors ofthe textile industry. An important field of application of technical textile inmedicine has been developed, such as wound care. Bandages and wound dressingsare most commonly used because they are affordable and reusable. The medicaltextile should have biocompatibility, flexibility and strength.

There is a clear difference in technical textiles andconventional textiles. Unlike conventional textiles used traditionally forclothing or furnishing, technical textiles are used basically on account oftheir specific physical and functional properties. Depending on the productcharacteristics, functional requirements and end-user applications, the highlydiversified range of technical textile products can be classified following categorieson the basis of their application:

• Agrotech (agriculture, horticulture and forestry)
• Geotech (geotextiles, civil engineering etc)
• Meditech (hygiene and medical)
• Protech (personal and property protection).

It is expected that technical textiles industry has immensepotential in the developing countries. Out of developing countries especiallyAsian countries, particularly India has great potential to make an impact inthis industry in the coming decade. The demand for technical textiles will beboosted by the changing economic scenario in these countries. Considering itshighly skilled and scientific/technical manpower and abundant availability ofraw materials, India can emerge as a key player in the technical textilesindustry.

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