New Products/Industry News

New conformable wound dressing now available

   The Advanced Wound Management division of Smith & Nephew (London) will launch new ACTICOAT™ Flex to expand the ACTICOAT™ family. The dressing was designed to support physicians dealing with injuries at high risk for infection. The dressing utilizes the Silcryst® nano-crystalline silver technology and is highly conformable, making it ideal for awkward anatomical areas such as the face and hands. The dressing also improves patient comfort during wear. The new dressing will be available initially in Canada; the US and EU market launch will be in early 2009.

   For more information, visit www.smith-nephew.com.

Wound dressing with innovative technology launched

   3M Health Care (St. Paul, Minn) recently launched 3M™ Tegaderm™ Matrix Dressing with PHI™ technology, the first wound dressing in this platform of products from the company. PHI technology comprises a blend of cations found in the body including potassium, zinc, calcium, and rubidium. The technology responds to body temperature and promotes a natural moisture balance to help chronic wounds progress toward healing.

   The new dressing is comfortable, safe, and easy to use. It creates a moist wound environment that does not harm the patient’s skin, affect tissue integrity, or cause maceration. The dressing is indicated for use with chronic, noninfected wounds,diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers (Stages II through IV), and venous stasis ulcers. The dressing also has demonstrated favorable results on hard-to-heal wounds.

   For more information, visit www.3m.com/tegaderm-matrix.

Wound care gel reduces dressing change pain

   A recent clinical study found that patients experienced nearly a 70% reduction in pain when MPM Medical Inc’s (Irving, Tex) Regenecare HA® hydrogel was used before and during wound dressing changes. Patients consistently rate the changing of wound dressings as the time of greatest pain. The 47 patients received the first dressing change without the use of the gel or any type of pain medication; the gel was used during subsequent dressing changes and reduced pain. Based on 10-level scale, patient-reported pain averaged 6.8 before using the gel. When the gel was used before and after dressing changes, patient reported pain averaged 2.3 —a nearly 70% reduction. The study attributed the pain-reducing benefits to the gel’s 2% lidocaine-HCI, its high molecular weight aloe vera extract, and marine collagen, a natural humectant and moisturizer that have been shown to enhance wound repair mechanisms within the epidermis.

   For more information, visit www.rbclifesciences.com.

Company appoints presidents of wound therapeutics and ostomy care business units

   ConvaTec (Skillman, NJ) announced that Michael E. Steadman, former Group President and COO of DFB Pharmaceuticals Inc, will become President of the company’s Wound Therapeutics Business Unit and Nino Pionati has been appointed President of the Ostomy Care Business Unit. Pionati has been with the company since 1998 and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Business Development.

   Following the acquisition of Copenhagen-based Unomedical in September, Convatec announced the formation of four new operating divisions: Ostomy Care, Wound Therapeutics, Continence and Critical Care, and Infusion Devices.

   For more information, visit www.convatec.com.

Collagen-based product receives 510k clearance

   Wound Care Innovations LLC (Fort Worth, Tex) a subsidiary of Wound Management Technologies Inc, received 510k clearance for a new wound management product utilizing their patented hydrolyzed collagen technology. The product combines hydrolyzed collagen with the healing properties of polysulfated glycosaminoglycan (PSGAG) and will initially be available in gel form. PSGAG enhances the absorptive capacity of the hydrolyzed collagen gel, making it appropriate for the management of exudative wounds. PSGAG has been shown to prepare granulation tissue for epidermal migration by maintaining a uniform, low-density granulation tissue more easily modified by the migrating epithelium; therefore, improving the rate of epithelialization of a chronic wound and reducing scarring.

   The product has been cleared and is indicated for topical use in chronic and acute wound management. The gel also is intended for dermal ulcers including the management of pressure ulcers (Stages I through IV), venous stasis ulcers, diabetic ulcers, first- and second-degree burns, surgical wounds, traumatic wounds, superficial wounds, ulcers resulting from arterial insufficiency, and grafted wounds and donor sites.

   For more information, visit www.Celleraterx.com.

Medicare policy encourages healthier approach to bladder management and catheter use

   As of April 2008, people using intermittent catheters no longer need to reuse their catheters as a result of a Medicare policy. The change affects nearly 1 million individuals living with spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, and spina bifida, as well as those who have other permanent conditions requiring bladder management or experience urinary incontinence or retention.

   Backed by Coloplast Corp (Minneapolis, Minn), members of Congress, and the new incontinence care community, the new policy eliminates mandatory reuse of intermittent catheters for outpatients receiving prescriptions from physicians and increases reimbursement coverage of sterile catheters from four per month to single-use (each episode of covered catheterization).

   Catheter reuse may be a key contributor to urinary tract infections. With approximately 10 million urinary tract infection-related doctor visits each year, the Medicare change is an important step in reducing healthcare costs through preventative care and lowering patient risks related to urinary catheterization. Regarding catheter reuse:
   • Sixty-five percent of intermittent catheter users get urinary tract infections at least once per year, compared to 14% in the general Medicare population
   • Intermittent catheter users are approximately five times more likely to have at least one urinary tract infection per year
   • Medicare-covered per capita cost of treating urinary tract infections was eight to 10 times higher for intermittent catheter users
   • Approximately $3.5 billion is spent nationally in annual urinary tract infection evaluation and treatment.

   For more information, visit www.us.coloplast.com.