3/2/2004 


(Roseville, Minn. - March 2, 2004) In an effort to meet the needs of IFAI Expo’s expanding market scope, IFAI Expo 2004 organizers will hold two pre-conference events: the 4th International Conference on Safety & Protective Fabrics and Medical Textiles 2004, both to take place Oct. 26-27 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

4th International Conference on Safety & Protective Fabrics The 4th International Conference on Safety & Protective Fabrics, an event to identify, promote and seek solutions for safety and protective textile products, will draw participants from all aspects of the industry - textile and fiber producers, product designers, engineers, manufacturers of end products, users of protective fabrics and textiles, government agencies, testing laboratories and academics.

This event, organized by the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) and the Safety and Protective Products Division of IFAI, will offer prime networking and educational opportunities for safety and protective industry professionals. Tentative technical program topics include:

Ballistic

• The Effect of the Cushion Structure on the Ballistic Impact
  
• Properties of the Bulletproof Vest
  
• Toward the Standardization of Wear Testing for Ballistic Vests
  
• Development of Novel Closure Systems for Use With Selectively Permeable Membrane Based Chemical/Biological Protective Clothing

• Characterization and Study of Biological and Chemical Protection Properties of Coated Electrospun Pellethane Membrane
  
• Development of Elastomeric Selectively Permeable Membranes for Chemical/Biological Protective Clothing
  
• Burn Severity and Hazardous Potential of Indian Wear

• Protective Clothing: The Unresolved Ultimate Trade Off Between Protection and Comfort
  
• Methods for Collecting End-User Assessments of Personal Protective Equipment
  
• Wearable Technology: A Marriage of Clothing and Engineering
  
• Process of Application of New Microencapsules of Phase Change Materials to Textiles for Comfort with Improved Breathability, Insulation and Drape
  
• Physiological Function and Wear Comfort of Protective Clothing with the Examples of Operating Room Gowns and Fire Fighter Garments

• Variable Loft Thermal Insulation for Temperature Adaptive Clothing
  
• Analyzing Thermal Store Energy and Clothing Thermal Protective Performance Miscellaneous
  
• Next Generation of Safety and Protective Products
  
• Cut and Mechanical Applications
  
• First Responder Technologies
  
• Zipper Technologies for Protective Applications

Medical Textiles 2004
Because of recent market demands and an increasing number of textile applications in surgery, general and veterinary medicine, nursing, rehabilitation and biomedical engineering, a substantial number of new technologies are being developed. Organized by the North Carolina State University and IFAI, Medical Textiles 2004 is a platform to educate product engineers, designers, manufacturers, microbiologists, research professionals, and health care and procurement specialists about these advancements and offers a prime networking opportunity for the global medical textiles community. Tentative technical topics include:

• Performance of polymers, fibers and textiles in medicine
  
• Resorbable, novel and biopolymers
  
• Sterilization techniques and issues

• Clinical performance of suture materials and laproscopic techniques
  
• Recent developments in sutures for healing
  
• Knot security studies and knotless sutures

• Historical perspective of vascular substitutes, structures and coatings
  
• Endovasculat stent graft developments
  
• Coronary artery prostheses
  
• Vascular scaffolds using biomimetic design
  
• Cardiac support devices

• Prosthetic devices for repair and rehabilitation of sports injuries
  
• Design of smart immobilization devices
  
• Support hose - structure and evaluation
  
• Future design of ACL prostheses

• Anti-microbial strategies for wound dressings
  
• Future structure and properties of textile wound dressings
  
• Solutions for controlling micro-organisms in hospitals

• Hospital requirements for infection control
  
• Market segmentation of hospital linens, disposable vs. renewable
  
• Standards and specifications for protective barrier fabrics

• Market status, future directions and growth opportunities for hygiene and nonwovens
  
• Use of sensors for monitoring comfort
  
• Genetically engineered, nanofibers, conductive fibers
  
• Regulatory issues - FDA and international requirements

For more information on participating in the 4th International Conference on Safety & Protective Fabrics, Medical Textiles 2004, or IFAI Expo 2004, please contact IFAI Conference Management; 1801 County Road B W.; Roseville, MN 55113; phone +(1) 651/222-2508 or 800/225-4324; fax +(1) 651/631-9334; e-mail confmgmt@ifai.com; or for the most up-to-date information, visit www.ifaiexpo.info.