What is the best way to monitor a wound?
For starters, checking on the injury would be easier if you could see it.
Over the years, Strouse has helped many healthcare professionals develop innovative solutions. Transparent film dressings are one of the many wound care applications we’ve brought from a design to reality.
Whether you’ve seen clear dressings in action or hope to learn more about how they work, you’ll benefit from understanding what a transparent dressing is, how they’re manufactured, and where you can find them.
Transparent film dressings are used to protect the skin and monitor the status of wounds while they’re healing.
For example, using a transparent dressing on an IV site or PICC line (catheter) allows healthcare providers to monitor its placement while secured.
Additional benefits of using a transparent film dressing include less physical disturbance to the wound site (due to the provider not needing to lift the dressing as often to check on the injury) and an adjustable barrier against liquid.
Specialized dressings are a critical factor in wound recovery by maintaining the proper moisture levels.
A lack of moisture causes injuries to become dry and scaly, crusting over with slow-healing scabs that often lead to irritation. However, creating a moist environment can result in maceration, where the skin becomes oversaturated with water, soggy, and prone to bacteria or fungal infection.
Some injuries benefit from particular levels of water retention, and specialized dressings, such as transparent film dressings, use different materials to achieve the correct saturation for a specific wound.
Dressings are manufactured depending on their design and material.
Typically, transparent film dressings are cut in a window-like design with clear film in the center to allow for injury visibility and a skin-adhesive border to seal out germs and bacteria.
Are you peeling off the liner in a single motion, or is it a two-step process? This might seem like an unimportant design detail, but it could alter how your manufacturer runs your product on their press.
One of the most common film manufacturing methods is rotary die cutting, which involves running raw material through a machine press and cutting it into precise shapes.
Because the transparent dressings are applied on open wounds, they must be produced in a sterile environment and devoid of biological or external contamination like stray hairs or skin oil.
In addition, transparent material must remain see-through to fulfill its purpose, meaning any stray marks could render it defective. If you’re producing transparent film dressings, you’ll want to go through a manufacturer that uses a Clean Room or operates under comparable medical standards.
Lastly, the adhesive can cover the film entirely rather than only the border. This total-coverage method is another transparent film design you might consider before discussing a project with your converter.
Many transparent film dressings are made from thin polymer films like polyethylene film tape. Yet, transparent dressings are built using different film types depending on the wound type, location, and intended wear time.
During prototyping, you’ll want to combine different types of stick-to-skin tapes with liners until you discover the right match. Generally speaking, you’ll want to talk with your manufacturer to find the most effective adhesive/liner combination for your intended use to ensure it’s manufacturable.
Remember, use light bonding adhesive skin tapes for more delicate or shorter-length applications depending on the shape of your design and how it conforms to the body.
While you can find many pre-cut dressings on the market, the type of transparent film dressing you’re searching for will determine your solution.
Ask yourself, “What shape of dressing will I need, and how long will a patient be wearing it for?”
Many options are likely available If you’re only looking for a pack of dressings or two. However, consider talking to a manufacturer about any customized designs, specific applications, or large quantities of transparent film dressings.
With your own design under your belt, you can be sure that any dressing you create will be optimized for its intended placement.
Additionally, suppose you’re unsure whether a transparent film is the best material for your solution. In that case, you can look into other types of wound dressings until you discover one that fits your needs.
Still looking for more information about general medical and stick-to-skin manufacturing applications? Feel free to contact us or check our Learning Center for answers.