Trimmable Negative Pressure Wound Dressing for Irregular Incisions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wound dressings struggle to accommodate irregularly shaped wounds and body topography, making them difficult to apply, especially around lengthy incision sites or complex body parts, and they often fail to maintain equalized negative pressure during substantial exudate handling.
Innovation Solution
The development of adaptable wound dressings with a gas-impermeable backing layer and transmission layers that allow fluid and gas transmission, featuring trimmable portions and bridging structures to fit various wound shapes and sizes, ensuring equalized negative pressure application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a wound dressing is designed with a fixed shape and size, then it is easier to manufacture, but it cannot accommodate irregularly shaped wounds or complex body topography
Solution Approach 1:
The transmission layer is divided into multiple modular cells separated by bridging portions. Each cell can be independently trimmed or removed, allowing the dressing to be customized for different wound shapes and sizes while maintaining a standardized manufacturing process for the complete dressing structure
Solution Approach 2:
The dressing design allows dynamic modification by removing portions of the transmission layer or bridging portions. This enables the same base dressing to be adapted for various wound configurations (linear, circular, irregular shapes) without requiring multiple pre-formed dressing types
2Reliability
If a wound dressing uses a dense structure to prevent gas leakage, then it maintains negative pressure better, but it becomes difficult to transmit fluid and gas away from the wound site
Solution Approach 1:
The transmission layer utilizes a porous foam structure that allows gas and fluid to pass through while maintaining structural integrity. The porous nature enables simultaneous negative pressure transmission and exudate removal, resolving the contradiction between sealing and transmission
Solution Approach 2:
The dressing combines a gas-impermeable backing layer with a porous transmission layer. This composite structure allows the backing layer to maintain negative pressure while the porous transmission layer facilitates fluid and gas transmission, achieving both requirements simultaneously
3Quantity of substance
If a wound dressing is designed to handle substantial amounts of exudates, then it improves wound management, but it may compromise the open air channel and negative pressure communication
Solution Approach 1:
The porous transmission layer maintains open channels for air and negative pressure communication even when absorbing substantial exudates. The three-dimensional porous structure prevents channel collapse under the influence of wound exudate, ensuring continuous negative pressure transmission
Solution Approach 2:
The transmission layer is positioned specifically between the wound contact layer and backing layer to create a dedicated fluid transmission pathway. This localized structure ensures that exudate management and negative pressure communication occur in separate but coordinated zones
4Reliability
If a wound dressing uses a gas impermeable backing layer, then it maintains negative pressure effectively, but it prevents natural evaporation and moisture management
Solution Approach 1:
The porous transmission layer allows moisture vapor to pass through while the backing layer maintains negative pressure. This creates a gradient where liquid exudate is absorbed and transmitted, while moisture vapor can evaporate through the porous structure, preventing harmful moisture accumulation
Solution Approach 2:
The transmission layer acts as an intermediary between the wound site and the external environment. It allows controlled transmission of fluids and gases while the backing layer provides the necessary seal for negative pressure, mediating between the conflicting requirements of sealing and moisture management
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 dressings provide enhanced adaptability and maintain consistent negative pressure over irregular wounds, facilitating effective wound treatment by accommodating diverse wound shapes and body topographies, thereby promoting healing and reducing infection risk.
Implementation Method 1
A transmission layer as described herein allows transmission of fluid such as air, and optionally additionally other gases and liquids, away from a wound site into upper layer(s) of the wound dressing
Implementation Method 2
The transmission layer(s) may be in turn positioned between the backing layer and (optional wound contact layer and) a wound site over which the dressing is configured to be positioned, for example sealed therebetween
Implementation Method 3
Alternatively or additionally the transmission layer may incorporate absorbent material and absorb liquid drawn away from the wound under the applied negative pressure
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to negative pressure treatment systems and wound dressing systems, apparatuses, and methods that may be used for the treatment of wounds. In particular, some embodiments are directed to improved wound dressings comprising a bridge portion connecting two or more portions of an absorbent layer that facilitates trimming of the wound dressing to suitable sizes. Some embodiments provide for trimming the dressing in a gap between two or more portions of an absorbent layer and sealing the exposed portion of dressing after trimming when the dressing is applied to skin surrounding a wound.