On our visit to Med in Ireland medtech industry event, we had a chance to check out some cool indigenous materials engineering that goes on in Ireland to benefit medtech. Specifically, ATD emolda, a company based outside of Dublin, was showing off its Abderma foam, a product designed for wound management applications.
Abderma, a biocompatible material, combines a number of characteristics that make it work well on wounds, including being able to absorb a lot of liquid material quickly and to retain it within itself. Having tried it between our own fingers, the material is very pleasantly soft and strong. It bends well, helping to improve the contact surface area and absorb as much liquid as possible.
The Abderma can be layered with other materials, such as breathable films, and it can be sterilized without losing its properties. It also comes in just about any thickness or size that’s desired.
Here’s some data that ATD emolda compiled to show off its Abderma material:
The absorbency was determined using the standard method BS EN 13726-1:2002, Test methods for primary wound dressings – Part 1: Aspects of absorbency. In summary a 5 x 5 cm foam sample was weighed and placed into an excess saline solution (Test Solution A*) to simulate a wound environment, for 30 minutes at 37°C. The sample was then suspended vertically by the corner of the dressing for 30 seconds and reweighed. The fluid retention was measured using the saturated 5 x 5 cm foam sample. The sample was subjected to a 6 kg weight covering the total surface area of the dressing for 30 seconds. The weight was removed and the sample reweighed. Abderma foam routinely retains in excess of 90% of the absorbed liquid. This exceptional fluid handling property differentiates the Abderma foam from other foams currently available.
Product page: Abderma…
Link: ATD Emolda homepage…
Please note: Enterprise Ireland, an organization of the Irish government promoting business in the country, sponsored the travel and accommodations for this report.