DRAPEABLE WOUND DRESSING
Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a wound dressing, suitable for use in negative pressure wound therapy, comprising a body of porous material, the body of porous material comprising a plurality of cuts which provide regions of flexibility within the body. Further embodiments relate to methods of manufacturing and method of use of such wound dressings.
1 . A wound dressing comprising a body of porous material, the body of porous material comprising a plurality of cuts which provide regions of flexibility within the body, wherein the porous material is a wound packing foam suitable for use in negative pressure wound therapy, the foam having a free internal volume of 80% or higher.
2 . (canceled)
3 . The wound dressing of claim 1 wherein the porous material is a wound packing foam suitable for use in negative pressure wound therapy having a porosity in the range 30-60 pores per inch and mean pore diameter in the range 300-800 μm.
4 . The wound dressing of claim 1 wherein the cuts are slits.
5 . The wound dressing of claim 4 wherein the cuts are slits from 10 mm to 70 mm in length.
6 . The wound dressing of claim 4 wherein the body comprises at least one linear series of slits, each slit being separated from an adjacent slit by a gap.
7 . The wound dressing of claim 6 wherein the body comprises two or more parallel linear series of slits, each linear series being spaced from the adjacent linear series.
8 . The wound dressing of claim 6 wherein the minimum size of the gaps is at least as big as a mean pore diameter of the wound packing foam.
9 . The wound dressing of claim 8 wherein the size of the gaps is at least 5 times the mean pore diameter.
10 . The wound dressing of claim 8 wherein the spacing between adjacent linear series of slits is not more than 50 times the mean pore diameter.
11 . The wound dressing of claim 4 comprising two or more parallel linear series of slits, wherein that adjacent series are linearly offset relative to each other.
12 . The wound dressing of claim 1 wherein the cuts pass at least half way through the thickness of the body.
13 . The wound dressing of claim 1 wherein the body comprises a sheet of porous material having a thickness of from 5 mm to 75 mm.
14 . The wound dressing of claim 6 comprising a second set of slits passing at least partially through the body in a different orientation to the at least one linear series of slits.
15 . The wound dressing of claim 14 wherein at least some of the slits in both orientations intersect to provide a two-dimensional (2-D) slit.
16 . The wound dressing of claim 15 wherein the 2-D slit has an H shape, with a two parallel slits in one orientation being intersected at their mid-points by a third slit in a perpendicular orientation.
17 . The wound dressing of claim 16 wherein the body comprises a first set of parallel linear series of H-shaped slits in a.first orientation and a second set of parallel linear series of H-shaped slits in a second orientation.
18 . The wound dressing of claim 17 wherein the second orientation is perpendicular to the first orientation.
19 . The wound dressing of claim 17 wherein adjacent series within a set are offset relative to one another.
20 . The wound dressing of claim 17 wherein the two parallel slits of the H-shaped slit are shorter than the perpendicular slit, thus allowing the two parallel slits of H-shaped slit in one orientation to nest within the area bounded by two parallel slits and perpendicular slit of the H-shaped slit in the other orientation.
21 . A method of manufacturing a wound dressing, the method comprising the steps of
providing a body of a porous material, wherein the porous material comprises a wound packing foam suitable for use in negative pressure wound therapy; and
making a plurality of cuts which provide regions of flexibility within the body of porous material.
22 . The method of claim 21 in which the cuts are provided by die cutting using an array of suitably sized and shaped blades to provide the desired cuts.
23 . A method of dressing a wound comprising:
placing a body of porous material over or into a wound, the body of porous material comprising a wound packing foam having a free internal volume of 80% or higher, the body of porous material further comprising a plurality of cuts to provide regions of flexibility within the body of porous material;
placing the porous material over the wound so as to substantially conform to the contours of the wound;
sealing the wound with a flexible, substantially fluid-impermeable drape; and
applying negative pressure to the wound through a tube connected through or under the drape.
24 . (canceled)
25 . The method of claim 23 wherein the negative pressure is applied in the range of from 80 to 125 mm Hg below ambient atmospheric pressure.
26 . (canceled)
27 . The method of claim 23 , wherein the porous material has a porosity in the range 30-60 pores per inch and a mean pore diameter in the range 300-800 μm.
28 . The wound dressing of claim 1 , wherein the foam has a free internal volume of 90% or higher.
29 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the plurality of cuts form a first linear series of slits, each slit being separated by a gap.
30 . The method of claim 27 , further comprising making at least one additional plurality of cuts in a linear series of slits, wherein the at least one additional linear series of slits is spaced apart from the first linear series of slits.
31 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the plurality of cuts form H-shaped slits, each H-shaped slit comprising two parallel slits in one orientation being intersected at their mid-points by a third slit in a perpendicular orientation.
32 . A wound treatment system, comprising:
the wound dressing of claim 1 ;
a flexible, substantially fluid-impermeable sheet configured to be provided over the wound dressing; and
a source of negative pressure configured to draw fluids from a wound bed through the wound dressing.