Determining Properties of Wound Dressings for Negative

Pressure Wound Therapy

Lora Aboulmouna, Lisa Lewicki, Ryan Frye

What is NPWT?

The application of sub-atmospheric pressure to a sealed wound for the purpose of removing fluid and stimulating a cellular response through the mechanical stretching

of wound tissue.

The way it works… Material inserted into wound bed Fluid drain tube Sealant Vacuum Applied (-50 to -200 mmHg)

Wound Dressings

Sorbact

Gauze

KCI Foam

Project Goal

To determine the fluid dynamic properties

of:

Sorbact

KCI Foam

Surgical Gauze

used as negative pressure wound dressings.

Variables

Pressure Gradient Flow Rate Material Resistance Material Saturation

Proposed Design Setup

C1 C2

P1 P2

Filter

Flow

Alternate Proposed Design

Flow meters

FlowFilter

Vacuum pump

Future Directions

Determine more advantageous design Meet with Dr. Fisher (Pioneer medical

advisor) Establish design specifications Obtain materials

References Borgquist O, Ingemansson R, Malmsjö M. Wound edge

microvascular blood flow during negative pressure wound therapy: examining the effects of pressures from -10 to -175 mmHg. Plast Reconstr Surg In press.

Ljungh, A, N Yanagisawa, and T Wadström. "Using the principle of hydrophobic interaction to bind and remove wound bacteria." Journal of Wound Care 15.4 (2006): n. pag. Web. 6 Nov 2010.

Smith, Jan, and Peter Robertsson. Method for Dressing a Wound. , 2010. Web. 27 Oct 2010. <http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=ApHVAAAAEBAJ&dq=sorbact>

"Science Behind the Therapy — KCI." Science Behind The Therapy. Web. <http://www.kci1.com/KCI1/sciencebehindthetherapy>.