GB2509160A

GB2509160A - Curved adhesive wound dressings

Info

Publication number: GB2509160A
Application number: GB201223311A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Milligan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-12-21
Filing date: 2012-12-21
Publication date: 2014-06-25
Also published as: GB201223311D0

Abstract

A method of manufacturing wound dressings 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e comprises the steps of: presenting up to a backing material 1 a plurality of groups of wound engaging pad elements 1, each wound pad being curved, adjacent groups of wound pads being oriented in a prescribed direction, attaching the groups of wound engaging element to the backing material, then applying a peel off layer of cover material to the wound engaging element and backing material. The adhesive dressings may be separated at the perforation lines 2. A curved adhesive plaster is also provided.

Description

Improved Woutid Dressings

Field of the Invention

The present in' ention relates to dressings for wounds.

Background of the Invention

Dressings are used in vast numbers in the treatment of wounds in humans and animals. Such dressings are necessary to protect the wound following surgery for example.

A wonnd dressing typically compi-ises a hacking material having adhesive applied to one surface thereof, and an absorbent material attached to the adhesive. Typically, the adhesive material extends beyond the absorbent material on at least two sides. Often the adhesive material extends beyond the absorbent material on each side thereof In use, the absorbent fabric is aligned \vith the wonnd, \vith and the part of the adhesive material that extends beyond the absorbent material being adhered to the skin surrounthng the In the case of dressings where the absorbent material is surrounded by a region of adhesive, when this adhesive is adhered to the skin, the region of the wound is protecred against infection as it is sealed against ingress of material for example.

There have been many advances in dressing technology, in particular relaring to the absorhen nateriand the material which carries the adhesie on one side thereof However, there has not been significant development in the shape of wound dressings. The vast majority of wound dressings are rectangular. Sonic arc modified rectangular shapes, for example the corners of rhe rectangle may he rounded, or the dressings may he elliptical or oval, even circular.

Tt is understood that i-he commonly used dressing shapes have evolved primarily because of the shape of incision made by surgeons during surgery. The most typical incision shape is a straight line.

When dressing such a wound, the absorbent material of the dressing is positioned with respect to the incision such that the centre axis of the absorbent material is aligned as closely as possible with the incision.

Whilst such dressings work well where a straight incision is ntade oi a part of the body that is flat, most of the surface of the body is curved rather than flat. In such cases, one side of the dressing is over-stretched and the other side is under-stretched. This results in the skin tinder i-lie over-stretched pail of i-lie dressing being subjected to excessive traction, and the dressing on the under-stretched side rucking and potenliallv coming away from the skin to which it is desired that it should adhere.

Q'here an incision is curved or on a curvcd part of the body, it is often necessary tI) use a large dressing in order ensure thar the incision is covered by the absorbent material. The use of over-size dressings can result in i-lie dressing adhering to part of the body that the patient would prefer to he free of dressing.

for example, where the wound site is on the neck, it is often necessary for the dressing to extend over and adhere to skin (to either side)other than that of the neck, for example skin overlying the clavicles. This skin is streched by movement of the shoulders for example. clhering the dressing to this skin can cause discomfort to the patient, and can rescdt in traction injuries.

Tn the case of breast surgery, the required size of rectangular dressing is such that often i-lie adhesive part of the dressing would cover, and hence adhere to, part of the nipple. This may cause discomfort, hence it is common to cut away the adhesive part of the dressing that overlies the nipple. However, this can compromise the barrier provided by the adhesive boundary around the absorbent material.

Ti-would therefore he desirable to provide an improved wound dressing.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of manufacturing wound dressing as specified in Claim 1.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided curved wound dressing as specified in Claim 13.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a group of curved wound dressings as specificied in Claim 24.

The group of curved wound dressings may be provided a peel off backing material. The group of curved wound dressings may he manufactured such that cach curved wound dressing has its own the peel off hacking material, or the peel off hackingmay he common to the group, in which case, the wound drcssing would most likely be peeled from the backing material or the backing material torn prior to use of the wound dressing.

Preferred features of the various aspects of the invention are set out in the claims dependent on Claims I, 13 and 24 and in the description and drawitigs.

Tn this speci hcation, the term curve shall he uuderstood to meal' a hue that is not straight.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the Drawings, which illustrate prefetTed embodiments of a wound dressing of the invention: Figure 1 illustrates a group of dressings according to the invention; Figure 2 illustrates'a dressing according to the invention; Figures 3a to 3k illustrate alternative shapes of dressing according to the invention; Figures 4 illustrates a dressing according to the invention alongside a conventional dressing; Figure 5 thustrates a dressing according to die invention arranged over curved and straight wounds; Figure 6 illustrates a process for the manufacture of dressings according to the invention; Figure 7 illustratesadressing accordi ig to the invention where the end faces are parallel; Figure 8 thustrates groups of dressings of the type illustrated in Figure 7.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Referring now to Figure 1, there is shown a group I of five wound dressings Ia to le forming a sector ol-a circle. Adjaccnt drcssings 1 a, lb for instancc are separatcd by perforation lincs 2. Each dressing la to I e includes an absorbent fabric layer 1' for engaging a wound and a backing layer 1" formed of a hacking matenal, which is covered with adhesive on its surface facing the fabric layer 1'. The hacking layer 1 is larger than the fabric layer 1' providing an adhesive coated margin 3 extending around the fabric layer 1'.

Each wound dressing I a to I e has a centre axis A-A which is curved (for the sake of clarity the axis A-A is shown on wound dres sing 1 a only).

Referring now to Figure 6a and 6h, groups 1 of wound dressings may he made up on a roll of backing material, with adjacent groups 1 being inverted so as to make best use of the backing material. The individual pieces of fabric material I' forming the fabric layer of each dressin Ia to 1 e are placed on to the adhesive covered surface of the hacking material. A covering layer of material 5 is then applied to cover the fabric layer and the adhesive coated margin 3. Perfriradon lines 2 are formed between adjacent dressings la, Ib, ic, Id, Ic in the same group I. Between groups 1 of dressings either the hackingmaterial is cut so as to separate adjacent groups of dressings, or perforations are formed along lines 4 so that groups 1 may he separated from each other easily.

The dressings may he of a different shape to those shown in Figure 1. For example, in Figure 2, the dressings form a larger sector ofa circle. Nevertheless, groups of dressings may he manufactured in the same manner as described above. Figures 7 & 8 illustrate a shape of dressing that is particularly effecient in terms of material usage. As can he seen from Figure 8, when manufacturing mu tiple groups of dressings there is little waste.

Figures 3a to 3k illustrate e'even differently sluped dressings. The common feature of all the dressings is that they lie on a curved axis, even though the periphery of each dressing may not be curved.

The dressing of Figure 3d for exant!=e forms part of an oval, rather than a circle. The dressings of Figure 3h and 3i havc upper and lower edges of both thc fabric material and the hacking material which do not lie on a cotnmnon radius.

ilic comets of the dressing may he rounded as shown in Figure 3f, or the cnds of the dressing may be rounded as shown in Figure 3g.

The dressing may have a grid type formation as shown in Figure 3j, or have a saw tooth edge formation as shown in Figure 3e.

Lach of the dressings illustrated in Figures 3a to 3i has a centre axis A-A that is curved, i.e. nor a straight line.

Figure 4 illusti-ates a wound dressing 10 according to the present invention and a wound dressing 20 of the ptor art. In order to cover a curved wound with the fabric 10', 20' of the respective dressings, the woutid dressing 20 must he significantly larger than the curved dressing 10, i-hereby using significantly more material (approxhnatdy one third more material).

Figure 5 illustrates the use of a wound dressing 1 on a curved area of the body to dress a straight wound. The curved dressing 1, even when over1ying a straight wound, sits on the curved party of the body better than a conventional rectangular dressing. In Figure 5 rhe part of the body is a breast with a wound situated above the nipple. Tn order to cover this wound with a conventional rectangular dressing, the edge of the dressing would be cry dose to if not partially covering the nipp'e, which is undesiraltie. Conversdy, the lower edge of the curved dressing of the invention sits well clear of the nipple.

The dressing of the invention is much easier to fit over curved wounds, and allows the dressing to he positioned around rather than over more sensitive areas of the body, such as the nipple, without the adhesive margin of the dressing, which provides a harrier against infection, being cut away. Further, where die dressing is applied to a curved area of the body it is more comfortable because there is a smaller difference in traction applied to the skin by the dressing when compared to a conventional rectangular dressing. Still further, tess materia' is used to dress most wounds using the wound dressing of the invention.

Claims

Claims 1. A method of manufbcturing wound dressings comprising the steps: presenthig up to a backing material a plurality of groups of wound engaging elements, each wound engaging element being curved, wherein adjacent groups of wound engaging element are oriented in a prescribed direction; attaching the groups of wound engaging element to the backing material; applying to the wound engaging clement and uncovered hacking material a peel off layer of covcr material.
2. A method of manufaettthng wound dressings according to Claim 1, comprising the further step of creating lines of weakness iii the hacking material between adjacent wound engaging elements.
3.Amethod of manufacturing wound dressings according to Claim 1 or 2, comprising the further step of creating lines of weakness in the cover material.
4. A method of manufacturing wound dressings according to any of Claims 1 to 3, comprising the further step of separating adjacent wound dressings in a group from one another.
5. A method of manufacturing wound dressings according to any of Claims 1 to 4, comprising die further step ofcreatinglines of weakness between adjacent groups of dressings.
6. A method of manufacturing wound dressings according to any preceding claim, comprising the further steps of separathig adjacent groups of dressings from one another.
7. A method of manufhcturing wound dressings according to Claim 2, 3 or 5, wherein the lines of weakness comprises perforations.
8. A method of manufacturing wound dressings according to any preceding claim, wherein the surface of the hacking material to which the wound engaging elements are applied is covered with a layer of adhesive.
9.Amethod of manufacturing wound dressings according to any preceding claim, wherein the individual wound engaging elements are presented up to the hacking material so as to leave mm rcgion of exposed backing material to at leasr two sides of each wound engaging element.
10. A method of manufacturing wound dressings according to Claim 8, wherein the individual wound engaging elements arc presented up to the hacking material so as to leave a regll)n of exposed backing material around the peripheral edge of each wound engaging element.
11. A method of ntanufactuthng wound dressings according to any preceding claim, wherein a group of wound dressings subsantially defines a sector of a circle.
12. A method of manufacruringwound dressings according to any preceding claim, wherein adjacent groups of wound dressings are oriented at 180 degrees to one another.
13. A curved wound dressing comprising a wound engaging element and a hacking material for suppOrtillg the wound engaging element, wherein the wound engaging element and the backing material each two spaced apart lie on a curved centre axis, the hacking material provlding an adhesive margin to at least two sides of the wound engaging element.
14. A curved wound dressing according to Claim 13, wherein the hacking material provides an adhesive margin around each side of the wound engaging element.
15. A curved wound dressing according to Claim 13 or 14, wherein the wound diressimlg has upper and lower edges each lying on a radius of curvature.
16. A curved wound dressing according to Claim 15, wherein the upper and lower edges lie on the same radius of curvature, or different radii of curvature.
17. A curved wound dressing according to any of Claims iS or 16, wherein one or both of the upper and lower edges arc irrcgularly shaped.
18.A curved woutid dressingaccordingto any of Claims 13 to 17, the dressinghaving ends, the ends being curved or sftaight.
19. A curved wound dressingaccording to ally of Claims 13 to *l7, wherein the upper and/or lower edges are curved, the curve being made up of a plurality of stiaight lines, adjacent straight lines being off-set with respect to one another, or lying at an angle to one another.
20. A curved wound dressing according to Claim 13, the wound dressing comprising a plurality of wound dressing components, each wound dressing component including a wound engaging element and a hacking material for supporung the wound engaging element, wherein the wound dressing components are adapted to fit together to form a wound dressing including an adhesive margin extending around the wound engaging elements of the wound dressing components.
21. A curved wound dressing according to Claim 20, wherein the backing material of each wound dressing components is polygonal, and wherein the wound engagingelenlent of each component is co-terminus wi tli the edge of one of the faces of the polygonal backing material.
22. A curved wound dressingaccording to any of Claims 13 to 21, wherein the wound dressing comprises a peel off hacking material
23.A curved wound dressing according to any of Claims 13 to 22, wherein the wound engaging element is an absorbent material.
24. A group of curved wound dressings according to any of Claims 13 to 24.
25. A group of curved wound dressings accordingto Claim 24, wherein the curved centre axis of individual wound dressings of the group have the same radius of curvature or different radii of curvature.
26. A group of curved wound dressings according to Claim 24 or 25, wherein the peel off hacking material is common to the individual wound dressings of the group.
27. A curved wound dressing substantially as shown in, and as described with reference to the drawings.