An in vitro assessment of wound dressing conformability.
An in vitro assessment technique has been developed to determine the conformability of wound dressings. The technique employed is based on an inflation technique which provides a measurement of the minimum radius of curvature which a specific dressing will adopt under pressure. A pressure of 40 mmHg was chosen as this had been shown to be the maximum tolerable pressure before the occurrence of tissue breakdown. This radius is then matched to the natural radii of the body surfaces and an assessment of conformability can be made. A series of commercially available dressings have been assessed with respect to their conformability, and to the enhancement of their conformability due to viscoelastic creep behaviour.
Queen
D
D
Bioengineering Unit, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.
Evans
J H
JH
Gaylor
J D
JD
Courtney
J M
JM
Reid
W H
WH
D001458:Bandages; D004548:Elasticity; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D011312:Pressure; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000628:therapy*