Adhesive wound wrap dressing

Abstract

A novel adhesive wound wrap dressing, comprising a lower adhesive film and an upper non-adhesive film, each with a hole. The two films are welded together with each other at the holes' periphery. The adhesive film is applied onto the skin with the hole coincide with the wound. An absorbent is placed on the wound and is kept in place by the upper non- adhesive film wrapping over it. The wrap can be opened to change the absorbent without removing the whole dressing, thus minimizing medical adhesive related skin injury and the cost of wound care. The non-adhesive film can both be in the configuration of a flat film or a tube.

Description

[0001] ADHESIVE WOUND WRAP DRESSING

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The objective of the present invention is related to adhesive wound dressings.

[0004] BACKGROUND ART

[0005] In wound care, open wounds are in general more difficult to manage than close wounds using adhesive wound dressings. One of the main reasons is the open wound produces exudate that readily saturates the dressing’s pad, or absorbent, mandating dressing changes, which when frequently performed, may in turn predispose the healthy periwound skin to medical adhesive related skin injury (MARSI). To minimize such frequent changes, high absorbing materials or negative pressure wound therapy are commonly used. However, both modalities are costly, and their prolonged application preclude regular wound assessments, which require the dressings to be removed. We need a new wound dressing that allows frequent changes of absorbent, and wound assessments, without the need to change the dressing to avoid MARSI and reduce the cost of wound care. To date there is no known means where saturated absorbent can be changed, or wound can be assessed, without removing the dressing.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The objective of the present invention is to provide an adhesive film with a centrally located hole that circumscribes an open wound, wherein specifically the periphery of the hole is welded, to form a seam, to a non-adhesive film on its upper surface, forming a wrap dressing. During its application, the adhesive film is adhered to the peri-wound skin with the hole encircling the wound with a preferred absorbent (or pad, or primary dressing) applied on the wound. The absorbent is wrapped by the upper non-adhesive film which is sealed by a detachable sealing means, such as a rubber band, a tie or a clip, to secure it on the wound. Whenever the absorbent is saturated with exudate, the sealing means is removed, and the wrap, formed by the upper non-adhesive film, is opened, and the saturated absorbent is replaced with a new absorbent while leaving the lower adhesivefilm inatct. Likewise, the wrap can also be opened for wound assessment as often as needed without disturbing the adhesive film on the skin. In this way, the wrap dressing can be used for a prolonged period, thereby reducing the risk of MARSI from frequent dressing changes.

[0008] In another preferred embodiment, the hole on the lower adhesive film can be substantially medial to the said peripheral seam, allowing the user to cut it to fit the size and shape of the wound edges, thereby ensuring a good fitting adhesive film which is essential to prevent peri-wound skin maceration. It should be obvious that the shapes and sizes of the hole, the seam, the lower film and the upper film may be varied, such as square, rectangle, circular or oval to tackle for different sizes and shapes of different open wounds.

[0009] In the present invention, due to the characteristic of the thinness of the adhesive dressing, the lower adhesive film is typically in a four-layer configuration comprising a harder backing sheet superficially, followed by a thin film, an adhesive layer and a releasing sheet.

[0010] In another preferred embodiment, instead of a thin film dressing, the upper non-adhesive film is in a configuration of a hollow tube welded to the periphery of the hole of the lower adhesive film and is supplied with a sealing means to its distal open end. The absorbent can be wrapped inside the tube and changed without disturbing the lower adhesive film as described above.

[0011] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 shows a top schematic view of the present invention.

[0013] shows bottom schematic view of the present invention.

[0014] shows a middle cross-sectional schematic view of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 4 is a middle cross-sectional view of the present invention applied on the skin on a wound 5.

[0016] Figure is a top perspective view of the lower adhesive film’s four-layer-with-a-hole configuration with backing sheet 2.1 on top, and the upper non-adhesive film 1 as seen in Figure 3. The two films are joined at the seam 3.Fiqure 6 is the top perspective view of the adhesive film 2 as shown in Figure 5 wherein the upper film 1 is pulled up for wrapping an absorbent inside it.

[0017] Fiqure 7 is a top perspective view of the present invention as shown in Figure 6 wherein the adhesive film 2 is applied on the skin 6 with the absorbent 15 wrapped inside the upper film 1. The open end of the wrap is sealed with a rubber tie 11.

[0018] shows a top schematic view of the present invention as shown in Figure 1, wherein there is a substantial area 12 of the adhesive film 2 medial to the seam 3.

[0019] Figures 9 shows a bottom schematic view of the device as Figure 8.

[0020] Fiqure 10 shows middle cross ■sectional view of the device as Figure 8.

[0021] Fiqure 11 shows the middle cross-sectional view of the device as Figure 10 applied on the skin 6, wherein the area of medial adhesive film 12.2, 12.3 has been trimmed to fit the edges of the wound 5.

[0022]

[0023] as shown in Figure 11 wherein the upper non-adhesive film 1 is used to wrap an absorbent 15 applied on the wound 5, and the wrap is sealed with a sealing means, such as a rubber tie 11.

[0024] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the adhesive wrap dressing (Figure 7) comprises two components: an upper non-adhesive film 1 (Figure 1), a lower adhesive film 2 (Figure 2) and a corresponding hole 4 on both films. The two film are welded 3 together at the brim of the holes (Figure 1). While the upper non-adhesive film 1 is flimsy and flexible, the lower adhesive film 3 has a standard three-layer configuration of dressing film 2.2, adhesive 2.3 and releasing paper 2.4. The lower adhesive film 2 may also have an optional harder backing sheet 2.1 on its upper surface (Figure 3). As the dressing film 2.2 is typically thin and flexible, the hard backing sheet 2.1 facilitates the application of the dressing on the skin. It is removed once the adhesive dressing is duly applied on the skin (Figure 4), as seen in regular thin transparent wound dressings. It is important to note that, in this case, a rim of backing sheet should be removed during manufacture to expose a small area of the dressing film 2.2.1 (Figure 3) to allow its welding to the upper film 1 to form the seam 3, as the upper film 1 cannot be welded to the backing sheet 2.1 which is to be removed during the application of the wrapdressing on skin. After applying the lower adhesive film 2 on the skin, the loose upper non-adhesive film 1 (Figure 5) is used to wrap (Figure 6) and secure the primary dressing (or pad or absorbent) 15 on the wound. A rubber band, a clip or other detachable sealing means 11 is applied to keep the absorbent in place inside the upper film 1 or the wrap. The rubber band 11 can be removed to open the wrap 1 to change the wrapped absorbent 15 or to review the wound without removing the adhesive film 2 on the wound 5. In this way, the dressing changes can be kept to a minimum, thus reducing the risk of MARSI as well as cost associated with wound care.

[0026] In another preferred embodiment there is a substantial area 12 of adhesive film 2 medial to the seam 3 (Figures 8 and 9). All the four layers of the adhesive film 12.1,12.2,12.3,12.4 may be involved here (Figure 10). The additional area 12 allows the user to cut it according to the shape and size of the wound 5 so that the lower film 2 can be more precise in covering the peri-wound skin 6 to prevent peri-wound skin maceration. The medial backing sheet 12.1 is removed together with the lateral backing sheet 2.1 when the lower film 2 is applied onto the wound 5 (Figures 11 and 12).

[0027] It is to be emphasized that the hole 4 on both the non-adhesive 1 and the adhesive 2 films and the corresponding welding seams 3 can be of other shapes other than the circular shape as shown here. Typically, the shape of the adhesive film 2 and the hole 4 can be elongated, so that the user can apply the adhesive film 2 along the uneven curved periphery of the wound 5 by turning, folding and adhering the film 2 onto itself. By so doing, the dressing becomes more versatile in accommodate wounds of different shapes and sizes. Furthermore, there is an option where the hole 4 is not created during manufacture, instead the user can cut out an appropriate hole in a shape and size according to his / her requirements before using the present invention.

[0028] In another preferred embodiment, the upper non-adhesive film 1, instead of a flat sheet of film, is in a configuration of a tube, with its proximal open end welded 3 to the periphery of the hole 4 of the lower adhesive film 2, and its distal open end resealable with a sealing means 11 as mentioned above to wrap the absorbent 15 on the wound. The resultantoverall configuration is similar to the above-mentioned wrap dressing with a flat nonadhesive film 1 as depicted on Figure 7, though it cannot be opened wide and flat for easier wound inspection and absorbent changes. It is also possible that the tube is in a convergent or divergent configuration, where the distal open end of the tube is smaller or larger than the proximal open end of the tube respectively. The former has the benefit of being easier for sealing the tube while the later easier for changing the absorbent in and out the tube, or for wound inspection.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A secondary wound wrap dressing comprisinga. A lower adhesive film with a holeb. An upper non-adhesive film with a hole, whereini. The hole in the upper non-adhesive film coincides with the hole of the lower non-adhesive filmii. The two holes are joined or adhered or welded together at their brims forming a seamc. A binding or occluding means to wrap or seal the upper non-adhesive film into a purse, pouch or a wrap.

2. A secondary wound wrap dressing comprisinga. A lower adhesive film with a holeb. An upper non-adhesive film with a hole, whereini. The hole in the upper non-adhesive film coincides with the hole of the lower non-adhesive filmii. The two holes are joined or adhered or welded together at their brims forming a seamc. A binding or occluding means to wrap or seal the upper non-adhesive film into a purse, pouch or a wrap.d. The upper adhesive film has a detachable hard backing sheet, except at the area next to the brim of the hole where the two films are joined or adhered or welded together.

3. The lower adhesive film as in the claims above, wherein there is a substantial area of inner rim medial to the seam of the two joined films, that can be cut according to the preferred size and shape to match the wound edges.

4. The wrap dressing as in the claims above wherein the upper non-adhesive film is in the configuration of a tube, wherein its proximal and distal open ends may be of equal or different diameters.

5. The wrap dressing as in the claims above, wherein the shapes and sizes of the upper non-adhesive film, the lower adhesive film and their corresponding holes and seams are variable.

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