Prospera Technologies presents data on its Gauze vs. Foam based NPWT research

Prospera Technologies announced today that, at the Clinical Symposium on Advances in Skin & Wound Care in San Antonio, Texas, Oct 22-25, 2009, Malin Malmsjo MD., Ph.D. of Lund University in Lund, Sweden, presented significant new research comparing the differences and quality of granulation tissue in foam versus gauze based NPWT.

This comes on the heels of groundbreaking research, which was presented at the 5^th Joint Meeting of the European Tissue Repair Society and The Wound Healing Society in Limoges, France. This represents the culmination of a series of NPWT scientific research studies conducted using the Prospera® NPWT Systems.

In several soon to be published studies, researchers reported findings which advance scientific understanding of wound bed histology and morphology, directly comparing the use of Gauze vs. Foam based NPWT and the biological effects. Key findings included:

• Granulation tissue formed utilizing moist gauze dressings with NPWT is thinner, but may be stronger and more organized, containing fewer inflammatory leukocyte cells, may result in less scarring and a better quality wound bed.
• Foam dressings under NPWT adhere to the wound and allow tissue in-growth, require greater force to remove (which may explain patient complaints of pain during dressing changes), and can increase the risk of trauma to the wound bed caused by tearing off new tissue at dressing changes and pieces of dressing adhering to the wound or being left in the wound bed.
• Strong evidence for the benefits of variable pressure (VPT®) and intermittent (IPT) over continuous pressure therapy (CPT).
• Negative Pressures of -80 mmHg allow maximal effects in the wound bed in terms of blood flow, wound contraction and granulation tissue formation. Lower negative pressures, e.g. -40 mmHg may be a good choice for poorly vascularised wounds.

“These study results support and confirm Prospera’s belief that there are issues with conventional thinking about NPWT, and that there are questions still to be explored and answered by ongoing scientific research. While we strongly believe that NPWT is an excellent adjunctive therapy for wound healing, we will continue to advance our negative pressure system to optimize this novel research knowledge in order to challenge past assumptions and advance NPWT for the future,” said Cindy Ahearn, MS, RN, ET, CWCN, FNP-BC, the Clinical Director of Prospera.

According to chief research scientist Dr. Malmsjo of Lund University, “With our growing knowledge of the mechanisms of action, the biological effects and the new finding with regard to wound bed histology and morphology we can now tailor the use of NPWT to the needs of a particular wound. This provides us with the ability to deliver customized therapies for optimal outcomes and reduced patient pain.”