Capillary Membrane Mat for Homogeneous Wound Perfusion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wound care systems, such as the V.A.C. Therapy System, require complex procedures for wound treatment, including continuous liquid introduction and removal, which can be cumbersome and inefficient, especially in maintaining a moist wound environment and ensuring even distribution of nutrients and exudate management without removing the bandage.
Innovation Solution
A wound care system featuring a single-layer arrangement of capillary membranes with a porous, semipermeable wall and a lumen, connected to a common supply line, allowing for fluid communication and arranged in a mat structure with connecting elements to maintain a uniform distance between membranes, enabling efficient nutrient supply and exudate disposal without removing the bandage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a foam material is introduced into the wound to exert forces under negative pressure, then liquid removal is improved, but the system complexity increases and requires alternating introduction and discharge procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a porous foam material that allows liquid to pass through its structure while maintaining mechanical form. The pores enable capillary action and pressure-driven flow, allowing the foam to function as both a structural element and a fluid transport medium, thereby simplifying the overall system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The foam material automatically responds to pressure changes and liquid accumulation without requiring external control mechanisms. When negative pressure is applied, the foam naturally draws liquid through its porous structure and expels it through the connected channel, eliminating the need for alternating manual procedures.
2Manufacturing precision
If continuous perfusion is used to supply nutrients and remove exudate, then wound care homogeneity is improved, but the procedure becomes cumbersome and requires frequent bandage removal
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the wound treatment function into multiple parallel capillary channels within the foam material. Each channel independently supplies nutrients and removes exudate, creating numerous small-scale perfusion pathways that collectively achieve homogeneous wound care without requiring complex external control.
Solution Approach 2:
The foam material maintains continuous contact with the wound surface throughout the bandage wear period, providing uninterrupted perfusion and exudate removal. The integrated design allows the foam to remain in place while continuously performing its function, eliminating the need for frequent bandage removal and reapplication.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple capillary membranes are arranged parallel to one another, then substance distribution evenness is improved, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple capillary membranes into a single foam material structure. The foam matrix contains numerous capillary channels that are distributed throughout its volume, combining the functions of multiple separate membranes into one unified component, thereby achieving even substance distribution without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a composite structure combining foam material with embedded capillary membranes. This composite approach allows the foam to provide structural support and mechanical properties while the integrated capillary channels deliver the perfusion function, achieving even substance distribution through a unified material system rather than separate components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This system allows for almost homogeneous wound care, facilitating safe and easy handling by ensuring uniform distribution of nutrients and efficient disposal of exudate, promoting wound healing while maintaining a moist environment.
Implementation Method 1
capillary membranes with a porous, semipermeable wall and a lumen
Implementation Method 2
through the supply line and the capillary membranes liquids, media, gases and/or other substances can be passed
Implementation Method 3
porous, semipermeable wall
Implementation Method 4
capillary membranes with a porous, semipermeable wall
Data Source
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AI summary
Wound care system comprising a single-layer arrangement of mutually parallel capillary membranes with a porous, semi-permeable wall, a lumen and at least one open end, wherein the capillary membranes have an external diameter in the range of 50 to 500 µm and a wall thickness in the range of 5 to 1000 µm and, with their open end, are fluidically connected to a common supply line with a wall and a lumen, characterized in that the capillary membranes are connected to one another by means of connection elements to form a mat and are held at a distance from one another by the connection elements, in that the capillary membranes are embedded with their open end so fluid-tightly in the wall of the common supply line that a fluid connection is obtained between the lumen of the supply line and the lumen of the capillary membranes, in that the distance of the capillary membranes from one another in the mat is 1 to 10 times the external diameter of the capillary membranes, and in that the distance of the connection elements from one another is in the range of 1 to 50 mm.