Swelling Bandage with Interlayer for Fluid Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current dressings and hygiene products fail to effectively manage the spread and storage of body fluids, leading to maceration, irritation, and reduced hygiene due to liquid accumulation and lateral migration, which complicates wound healing and user comfort.
Innovation Solution
A dressing design featuring a proximal structure permeable to liquids with a material capable of swelling, a distal structure for drainage, and an interlayer structure that allows local expansion and transfer of liquids from the proximal to the distal structure, preventing lateral migration and accumulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If the dressing increases storage capacity to reduce changing frequency, then the duration of action is improved, but the device becomes thicker and heavier increasing leak risk
Solution Approach 1:
The dressing is divided into three distinct functional layers: a proximal structure with swelling material for localized absorption, an interlayer structure with channels for liquid transfer, and a distal structure for storage. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function efficiently without requiring the entire dressing to be thick and heavy.
Solution Approach 2:
The interlayer structure acts as an intermediary between the proximal and distal structures. It contains channels that actively transfer liquid from the proximal structure to the distal structure, preventing liquid accumulation in the middle and enabling thin construction while maintaining high storage capacity in the distal layer.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the dressing removes liquids quickly to avoid maceration, then the harmful factors are reduced, but liquids may accumulate and migrate laterally
Solution Approach 1:
The proximal structure contains swelling material localized at the wound contact area, providing rapid liquid removal exactly where secretions occur. The interlayer structure has channels positioned to receive liquid from this local area and transfer it away, preventing both maceration at the wound site and lateral migration to surrounding skin.
Solution Approach 2:
The channels in the interlayer structure function as hydraulic conduits, using capillary action and gravity to actively transport liquid from the proximal structure to the distal structure. This hydraulic system ensures continuous liquid removal and prevents accumulation.
3Ease of operation
If the dressing is made thinner and more flexible for conformability, then the ease of operation is improved, but storage capacity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The distal structure is positioned away from the wound contact surface, utilizing the thickness dimension of the dressing for storage capacity. This allows the proximal and interlayer structures to remain thin and flexible for conformability, while the distal structure provides ample storage volume in the opposite dimension.
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 solution effectively evacuates and stores body fluids, maintaining skin and mucous membrane dryness, reducing the need for frequent dressing changes, and enhancing wound healing conditions while maintaining user comfort.
Implementation Method 1
comprising a material capable of swelling in the presence of the liquid
Implementation Method 2
an interlayer structure, preferably perforated, hydrophobic and non-absorbent, extending between the distal and proximal structures
Implementation Method 3
this expansion leading to the local rapprochement of the proximal structure and the distal structure and to the transfer of said liquid from this area of the proximal structure having undergone expansion to the distal structure
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to an item (10) having liquid (L) storage and/or discharge properties, in particular a bandage, comprising: - a liquid-permeable proximal structure (20), consisting of a material capable of inflating in the presence of liquid (L), - a distal structure (30) capable of draining a liquid (L), -a hydrophobic and non-absorbent spacer structure (40) extending between the distal (30) and proximal (20) structures, and being capable of locally limiting, when said material is not inflated, the exchange of liquid between the distal and proximal structures by maintaining a gap between said structures, and of authorising a local expansion of the proximal structure in at least one zone (P) where said material is inflated in response to coming into contact with a liquid, said expansion causing the proximal and distal structure to move together locally and the transfer of said liquid from the zone of the proximal structure (20) having undergone expansion to the distal structure (30).