Quick-Release Adhesive Tape for Sensitive Skin
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Solution Overview
Problem
Medical adhesive tape removal causes significant injuries, particularly in neonates and elderly individuals, due to skin irritation, scarring, and lifelong motion restrictions, as well as damage to delicate skin during removal.
Innovation Solution
Development of quick-release tapes with an adhesive layer and a support layer, where the adhesion between the support layer and the adhesive layer is less than the adhesion between the adhesive layer and the substrate, allowing for easy removal of the support layer without damaging the skin, leaving most of the adhesive on the skin.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional medical adhesive tape is used to secure devices to skin, then device fixation is achieved, but skin damage occurs during tape removal
Solution Approach 1:
The tape is divided into two distinct layers: a support layer and an adhesive layer. The support layer provides mechanical strength and handling capability, while the adhesive layer provides bonding to the skin. During removal, the support layer peels away from the adhesive layer, leaving the adhesive on the skin and preventing skin damage while maintaining strong device fixation during use.
Solution Approach 2:
The support layer is extracted as a separate removable component from the adhesive layer. This allows the support layer to be removed independently during tape removal, leaving only the adhesive layer on the skin. The adhesive layer maintains strong bonding to the skin throughout the process, preventing skin damage while the support layer provides the necessary mechanical strength for device securing.
2Strength
If strong adhesive is used to secure the tape to the substrate, then secure fixation is achieved, but the tape becomes difficult to remove without damage
Solution Approach 1:
The tape structure is segmented into a support layer and an adhesive layer with different adhesion characteristics. The adhesive layer is designed to adhere strongly to the skin substrate while having weak adhesion to the support layer. This segmentation enables easy removal by peeling the support layer away from the adhesive layer, leaving the adhesive intact on the skin and avoiding damage.
Solution Approach 2:
Different layers of the tape have different local adhesion properties: the adhesive layer has high adhesion to the skin substrate but low adhesion to the support layer. This local quality differentiation allows the tape to maintain strong fixation during use while enabling easy removal by targeting the weak interface between the support and adhesive layers.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the adhesive layer is strongly bonded to the support layer, then structural integrity is maintained, but the support layer cannot be easily removed
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesion between layers is locally optimized: the adhesive layer has strong bonding to the skin substrate and adequate bonding to itself (cohesion), but deliberately weak bonding to the support layer. This local quality control maintains structural integrity during device fixation while enabling easy support layer removal during tape removal by exploiting the weak support-adhesive interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The tape structure transitions from a stable, integrated configuration during application and wear to a separable configuration during removal. The weak interface between the support and adhesive layers remains dormant during normal use but activates during removal when peeling force is applied, dynamically enabling the support layer to separate from the adhesive layer while the adhesive remains bonded to the skin.
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
The quick-release tapes enable secure device fixation to sensitive skin without causing damage during removal, with the residual adhesive being easily detackified, reducing injury risks and allowing for reattachment, suitable for neonates, elderly, and other sensitive skin types.
Implementation Method 1
a first adhesion level between the adhesive layer and the support layer is less than a second adhesion level between the adhesive layer and the substrate
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and compositions for securing to and removing adhesive tapes from substrates, e.g., delicate substrates such as skin, are described. The methods include providing an adhesive tape comprising an adhesive layer and a support layer in contact with the adhesive layer. A first adhesion level between the adhesive layer and the support layer is, or can be controlled to be, less than a second adhesion level between the adhesive layer and the substrate. The methods further include applying the adhesive tape to the substrate by contacting the adhesive layer to the substrate while the support layer remains in contact with the adhesive layer; and removing the support layer from the substrate by separating the support layer from the adhesive layer.