Development of Technology Roadmap for Guangdong Biomedical Textile Industry

Biomedical textile industry, as one of the most rapidly expanding sectors in industrial textiles, is developing globally due to booming and aging of population, increasing awareness of disease prevention, improvement of living standards and so on. It is a new industry with high-value added technology innovation, which will attract intense competition in the following decades in the world. At present, China is facing substantial challenges of industrial up-gradation to adapt itself to the new technology development in textiles. Biomedical textile industry is a crucial sector in this industrial battle. To improve Guangdong textile industry's competiveness and sustainable development, a key research project was initialized and funded by Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology to develop a specific technology roadmap for Guangdong Biomedical Textile Industry, so as to set up a blueprint for the future development of high-end industrial chains and clusters. This paper reports the development process, methodologies and key findings from preliminary and Mid-term stages of the project. Qualitative questionnaires, industrial surveys, expert forums and integrated analysis are conducted with the uses of Delphi method, brainstorming, SWOT analysis, radar charts and bar charts. Thirteen market demands, thirteen industrial targets, twelve technology barriers and fifteen key technologies have been identified for roadmap development. In addition, one hundred and fifty two research projects are planned for five to ten years' developing by international and national panel members as well as the industrial expert group.