New Products and Industry News

Venous ulcer data presented at SAWC 2013

  Organogenesis Inc (Canton, MA) announced key findings from a comparative effectiveness analysis that demonstrate a significant benefit for venous leg ulcer (VLU) patients who were treated with Apligraf®. The results were presented at the 2013 Spring Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) in Denver, CO.

  The retrospective analysis is the largest real-world comparative effectiveness analysis conducted with the product and was conducted on treatment records collected from the WoundExpert (Net Health Systems Inc) electronic medical record database.

  For more information, visit www.apligraf.com.

Elevated protease activity highly predictive of skin graft failure

  The results of a recently completed study, confirming for the first time the relationship between elevated protease activity (EPA) and skin graft failure, were presented at the European Wound Management Association’s conference on May 17, 2013 by Franck Duteille, MD, Head of Department of Plastic Reconstructive and Esthetic Surgery, University Hospital, Nantes, France, the study’s investigator and author. The presence of EPA was determined using WOUNDCHEK™ Protease Status, the world’s first point-of-care wound diagnostic test.

  During the Systagenix-sponsored symposium, Prof. Duteille presented data generated in a 30-patient study of split-thickness skin graft procedures. All wounds were tested for EPA using the protease status product before grafting, and the subsequent take rate was recorded and analyzed. The clinical and economic implications of graft failure then were further documented.

  The protease status product is not currently cleared by Federal Drug and Food Administration for sale within the United States market.   For more information, visit www.systagenix.com.

Negative pressure device offers increased patient mobility

  Medela (McHenry, IL) announced the availability of Invia® Motion™ Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) System for treating chronic and acute wounds. The device helps facilitate wound healing as it allows patients to be fully mobile and continue with normal daily activities.

  The NPWT system provides up to 60 days of therapy, which typically covers a patient’s entire length of treatment. In addition, the system offers a choice of constant or intermittent therapy modes, multiple pressure settings, and multiple drain options that can be used with either antimicrobial gauze or polyurethane foam dressings.

  For more information, visit www.medela.com.

$100K grant to advance the science of wound care announced

  Shire plc (San Diego, CA) is providing the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC) an unrestricted grant to be used for fellowships that will advance the science of wound care. The announcement was made at the 2013 Symposium on Advanced Wound Care and Wound Healing Society meeting in Denver, CO.

  In partnership with the AAWC, this unrestricted grant of $100,000 will be split to sponsor two individual fellowships for the 2014–2015 academic year. The fellow selection process will be administered by the AAWC, and each fellowship will be open to DPM, MD, and DO candidates to support a post-residency or fellowship program focused on multidisciplinary wound healing and tissue preservation. Programs throughout the United States are eligible to receive funding.

  Applications for the fellowship grants for the scientific advancement of wound care will be accepted by the AAWC through 2013, and the selections of fellows and their programs will be made by the AAWC by March 2014. Details of the application and selection process for this fellowship program will be communicated in the upcoming months.

$18 million invested to expand domestic incontinence management production

  HARTMANN USA, Inc (Rock Hill, SC), the United States subsidiary of PAUL HARTMANN AG (Germany), announced the pending expansion of its facilities in Rock Hill, SC. The project will include an $18 million investment to support the relocation of its US incontinence management production, located in Bloomington, IN, as well as new machinery and equipment from its European operations. The expansion is expected to be complete in mid-2014 and will modernize and expand capacity to their manufacturing operations in the US while adding nearly 75 jobs to the local economy.

  The company will provide information relative to product-specific changes as the project progresses and will make formal announcements about new products closer to the grand opening of their newly expanded operations.

  For more information, visit www.hartmann.info/EN/.

New pressure ulcer guide mobile app available

  The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) announced that the 2009 NPUAP/EPUAP Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Treatment Quick Reference Guide is now available as a mobile app for both iPhone/iPad and Android devices.

  Released in October 2009, the Guide provides evidence-based recommendations on a full range of topics related to pressure ulcers. The prevention section provides state-of-the-art, best-practice recommendations on risk assessment, skin assessment, nutrition, repositioning, and support surfaces with a special focus on patients in the operating room. The treatment section provides a comprehensive guide for the care of individuals with pressure ulcers. Topics include best practices for classifying, assessing, and monitoring pressure ulcers; assessing and managing pain; nutrition for healing; support surfaces; wound bed preparation (cleansing, debridement, dressings, and assessment and management of infection); use of biophysical agents such as electrical stimulation; and surgery for pressure ulcers. Special recommendations for spinal cord-injured and bariatric patients are included. There is a special section on pressure ulcer care for patients receiving palliative care.

  For more information, visit www.npuap.org.

Visual biofeedback plays key role in patient repositioning

  Research was presented at a patient experience summit demonstrates improved patient outcomes in the prevention of pressure ulcers with the use of Wellsense’s (Nashville, TN) M.A.P™, the first-ever continuous bedside pressure mapping system. The research is the subject of a poster presentation at the 4th Annual Cleveland Clinic Patient Experience: Empathy and Innovation Summit at the Bank of America Conference Center in Cleveland on May 19–21. The study, “Enhancing Patient Experience by Optimizing Patient Repositioning through Biofeedback,” showed that peak pressure was significantly lowered when caregivers used the visual aid of the system to reposition patients.

  The mapping system’s pressure sensing mat is made of an intelligent textile that constantly measures pressure from thousands of discrete points. The variations in pressure across a patient’s body are depicted on a monitor, using a color scheme to help caregivers visualize high (red) to low (blue) pressure points, which enables them to easily identify and minimize areas of high pressure.

  Caregivers were asked to reposition a patient without visual aid. After the patient had been repositioned, caregivers were shown images of where pressure still existed, and then readjusted to limit peak pressure. This research highlights the role of biofeedback in effective patient repositioning, comfort, caregiver satisfaction and effectiveness, and pressure ulcer prevention. The aim of the study was to provide caregivers and patients visual feedback in locating where pressure exists between the patient and the support system using the system.

  For more information, visit www.themapsystem.com.