Vestagen Technical Textiles today announced its entry into the advanced performance textile arena with the introduction of the first of a new class of Nanotechnology-Based Healthcare Specialty Textiles. The Orlando based company will provide apparel and textile products for use in environments where biological contamination of clothing can occur. Vestex, designed exclusively for the healthcare market, made its debut at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 2009 National Forum.
Vestagen holds exclusive North American license to three patented Swiss technologies. For the first time, these technologies have been blended to create a unique combination that can be applied to any single layer of fabric. Vestex personal and professional wear repels fluids; has documented and registered antimicrobial properties impregnated in the clothing to resist contamination; rapidly kills microbes; is highly durable; minimizes odor and is naturally self cleaning.
"Infections are becoming more widespread in our society, and nowhere is that more evident than in our nation's hospitals," said Richard P. Wenzel, M.D., professor and former chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. "This innovative nanotechnology-based textile may prove to be an important component in a hospital's infection control efforts."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), health care associated infections (HAIs) affect two million patients and claim nearly 100,000 lives each year. With a per-patient cost of $15,000, these dangerous and preventable infections add approximately $30 billion annually to our nation's health care tab.
"There is a clear and urgent need for our technology in America's hospitals," said Ben Favret, founder and CEO of Vestagen. "It is well documented that medical textiles can become contaminated with dangerous pathogens, including the bacterium Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)."