Month: June 2018

Patient Assessment and Wound Dressing Considerations

As wound care clinicians, we need to take into consideration many different factors in deciding on a treatment plan for our wound patients. Our patients should be evaluated on an individual basis. If we look at our patient’s socioeconomic status, we will find it varies from patient to patient. Socioeconomic status clearly affects morbidity and mortality rates related to wounds: wound management tends to be lower in quality and follow-up visits tend to be fewer in number when compared with patients with better economic status.

Socioeconomic Factors Affecting Wound Management

Socioeconomic factors can be big stressors for patients. Patients want their wounds to heal but feel helpless. We, as compassionate health care clinicians, feel the frustration for our patients. Patients miss follow-up appointments because they lack gas money, access to transportation, or caregiver support to assist with transportation. What can we do to help? There are some hospitals throughout the country that have free shuttle services to and from the wound center. This helps relieve the burden for the patient and provides more consistent wound management. Most recently, there are companies that are similar to Uber, but for health care needs. The following list provides examples of barriers to wound management … read more

Kent Imaging Inc. and SerenaGroup announce Partnership in wound care

CALGARY, June 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ – Kent Imaging Inc. and SerenaGroup® today announced a Strategic Partnership to jointly improve tissue assessment in wounds with the use of Near Infrared Imaging technology using Kent’s KD203 device.

Oxygenation is widely accepted as the best biomarker of tissue health and healing. Kent’s device is intended for use by healthcare professionals as a non-invasive tissue oxygenation measurement system that reports oxygen saturation (StO₂), relative oxyhemoglobin level (HbO₂), and relative deoxyhemoglobin (Hb) level in superficial tissue. Kent’s multispectral imaging technology displays two-dimensional color-coded images providing critical information to help clinicians determine at risk tissue and guide treatments to optimize patient outcomes in wound care, plastic surgery, and various other reconstructive applications.

This is a great partnership between one of the leaders in building wound care teams and an innovative tissue assessment technology that is easy to use, convenient, and cost effective. SerenaGroup® will adopt Kent Imaging’s technology as the standard of care for assessing wound oxygenation thus wound health. Kent will be integrated into each of the SerenaGroup® managed facilities, included in Hyperbaric training courses curriculum, as well as included in future clinical and preclinical research.

“We are pleased to introduce Kent’s imaging system into the wound care protocol at our clinics. One of the most troublesome and elusive criteria in treating wounds is the timely and accurate assessment of viable tissue.” said Dr. Serena MD FACS FACHM MAPWCA, Founder and Medical Director of The SerenaGroup®. “Kent’s device will propel us a long way down the healing path with a technology that has been lacking across the board in the Wound Care space. ”

read more

Healogics Releases Software to Improve Chronic Wound Care Experience

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Healogics®, the wound healing experts, today announced the launch of two new applications that support efforts to improve the patient experience and save time for clinicians and physicians, all while increasing the quality and consistency of patient care. Clinical Optimization^SM and Decision Support^SM, applications on Healogics’WoundSuite^SM platform, enable the critical connection between people living with chronic wounds and their multi-disciplinary healthcare team for collaborative, evidence-based, patient-centered care.

“Over the past year, Healogics has been working tirelessly to ensure that the care teams at our Wound Care Centers® have access to the best software available to help more people heal. We are excited about the launch of these new applications, and their ability to support more in-depth documentation, accurate wound measurements and, most importantly, better patient outcomes,” said David Bassin, Healogics CEO.

Healogics Clinical Optimization provides clinicians and physicians with patient-focused insights starting with the daily team huddle. Additionally, this application supports them throughout the Healogics Patient Care Process^SM, a six-sigma lean productivity process used in each Wound Care Center. Clinical Optimization provides a one-click patient summary that eliminates all of the arduous and time-consuming paper processes built around EMRs. By concisely presenting the essential patient information, physicians can now go through medical surveillance, a process designed to monitor patient healing, with case managers before ever walking into a patient’s room. This allows more time for meaningful patient interaction.

read more

Molecular Diagnosis of SSTIs May Yield Better Clinical Outcomes

Molecular diagnostics such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–based tests provide faster, more complete results than traditional culture-based tests, and their use may improve outcomes for patients with chronic wounds and skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), according to new findings presented at the 21st Annual MAD-ID Meeting held May 9 to 12 in Orlando, Florida.

About 6.5 million individuals were afflicted with chronic wounds and SSTIs in the United States in 2009.¹ The costs of treating associated complications reached upward of $25 billion at that time. A more recent study estimated that annual Medicare spending for all wound types ranged from $28.1 billion to a whopping $96.8 billion in 2014.²

“These costs could potentially be mitigated with the use of rapid diagnostics that have the capability to better identify wound pathogens and thus allow clinicians to provide better clinical care through targeted antimicrobial therapy,” said Tanya Moreno, PhD, vice president of research and development at Millennium Health, citing a Mayo Clinic Proceedings article on the hospitalists’ view of treating SSTIs … read more

Skin hydration of the heel with fissure in patients with diabetes:

a cross-sectional observational study

Purpose: Foot fissure should be prevented in patients with diabetes due to the likelihood of subsequent diabetic ulcer. The purpose of this study was to investigate a cutoff point for skin hydration with fissure and the factors associated with low skin hydration in patients with diabetes.

Subjects and methods: Subjects were patients with diabetes who visited the diabetic foot clinic and were evaluated for skin hydration on the heel between April 2008 and March 2015. Information about fissure, skin hydration, age, sex, autonomic neuropathy, angiopathy, and tinea pedis were collected from the medical charts. Skin hydration on the heel was measured using a moisture checker. Skin hydration was compared between heels with and without fissure, and a cutoff for skin hydration with fissure was determined using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Based on the determined cutoff, factors associated with lower skin hydration were analyzed using logistic regression analysis.

Results: Participants comprised 693 patients. Mean±SD age was 66.8±10.8 years, and 57.0% of subjects were male. The frequency of fissures on the heels was 10.4%. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for skin hydration in the presence of fissure was 0.717. Twenty percent was selected as the cutoff point, offering sensitivity of 0.478 and specificity of 0.819. Logistic regression analysis showed correlations between three factors (male sex, tinea pedis, and room temperature) and skin hydration <20.0% (odds ratio [OR] 1.587, 95% CI 1.157–2.178, p=0.004; OR 1.548, 95% CI 1.122–2.135, p=0.005; and OR 0.900, 95% CI 0.823–0.0985, p=0.021, respectively).

Conclusion: To prevent heel fissures, moisturizing care should aim at achieving skin hydration of 20%. If skin hydration is <20%, prevention of fissures may warrant not only specialized moisturizing care but also consideration of treatment for tinea pedis.

read more

MediWound Completes Enrollment in NexoBrid® U.S. Phase 3 DETECT Study

YAVNE, Israel, June 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MediWound Ltd. (Nasdaq:MDWD), a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company bringing innovative therapies to address unmet needs in severe burn and wound management, today announced it has completed enrollment in NexoBrid^®U.S. Phase 3 DETECT study. Top-line acute data are currently expected around year end 2018.

“We are happy to achieve this important milestone of completing the enrollment in NexoBrid Phase 3 study, which is one of the most comprehensive randomized controlled studies ever conducted in burn care, and we believe it will support our Biological License Application (BLA) submission to the FDA,” said Gal Cohen, president and chief executive officer of MediWound. “Prior studies of NexoBrid have shown positive results and we eagerly await our top-line acute data. Subject to a successful study outcome, we plan to meet with the FDA to discuss the BLA submission plan. We warmly thank our Principal Investigators, their teams and everyone involved in the study for their commitment and dedication in an effort to advance burn care.”

read more

Organogenesis Inc. Announces Support of American Diabetes Association

Organogenesis will support initiatives to educate about diabetic foot ulcers, the leading cause of diabetes-related amputations

CANTON, Mass., June 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Organogenesis Inc. – a leading regenerative medicine company committed to empowering healing – today announced it is a proud supporter of the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Organogenesis will support the production of an ADA scientific compendium focused on the latest scientific evidence related to the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), the leading cause of diabetes-related amputations in the United States.

Organogenesis will also host a corporate symposium, “Innovations in Diabetic Wound Healing,” at the ADA’s 78^thScientific Sessions, held June 22-26 in Orlando, FL, and exhibit during the meeting trade show at Booth #616.

“As a global regenerative medicine company driven by a shared mission to empower healing, we work to provide opportunities for patients and health care professionals to learn more about state-of-the-art approaches to treat diabetic foot ulcers,” said Gary S. Gillheeney, Sr., President and CEO of Organogenesis. “We are happy to support the ADA and its work to help Americans living with diabetes.”

Read full press release

Eggshell membrane waste beneficial for wound healing

EU research has brought the benefits of eggshell membrane (ESM) protection from the chick to ‘hard-to-heal’ open wounds.

Delayed chronic wound healing is the so-called ‘vicious cycle’ of many illnesses. Chronic inflammation, excess protease, a key risk factor in healing, and tissue degradation are the hallmarks of this condition that can lead to further debilitation for the patient including a deterioration in psychological health. What’s more, already high healthcare costs are set to escalate the longer the wound goes unchecked.

ESM: Material mastermind behind wound healing

ESM is a low-cost alternative to currently used collagen-derived dressings that are often too expensive to use. Based on a novel biomaterial derived from ESM, it is extracted from waste eggshells. Protecting the egg and its chick during development, ESM is a thin, structural protein-rich lining that performs similar key functions in wound healing to the extracellular membrane in skin … read more

Breakthrough Randomized Controlled Trial Demonstrating TWO2

Efficacy in Healing Diabetic Foot Ulcers Unveiled at the American Diabetes Association 78th Scientific Sessions Conference

OCEANSIDE, Calif., June 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — AOTI Inc. announced today that initial results from its recently concluded Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) demonstrating the efficacy of its patented multi-modality Topical Wound Oxygen (TWO₂) homecare therapy in healing Diabetic Foot Ulcers were presented as a prestigious Late Breaking Abstract this weekend at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 78^th Scientific Sessions conference in Orlando, Florida.

The ADA estimates that Diabetes costs the USA$327 billion annually with a large portion of this cost related to treating comorbidities such as Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFU)¹. Non-healing DFU lead to increased mortality, morbidity & health economic burden as well as decreased QOL for the sufferers.

The study was conducted at seventeen Diabetic Foot Centers of Excellence spread across the USA and Europe, with a “who’s who” of expert Opinion Leaders as its investigators. The authors of the abstract highlighted the robustness of the study protocol that was of the highest scientific level ever seen in DFU studies, being not only conducted multi-center and multi-nationally, but being also double-blinded and placebo controlled. Additionally, the study protocol included the unprecedented step of a run-in of gold standard-of-care (SOC) for all subjects meeting enrollment eligibility criteria, ensuring that only those that truly failed to heal with SOC alone would be randomized into the active phase of the study.

full press release PR Newswire

Wound Care Clinical Trials: Setting the Record Straight

A recent article by Kaiser Health News misquoted me as saying that we enroll only “healthy” patients in our clinical trials. At moments like this, one feels that something has been overlooked. One of my research coordinators, recalling the serious adverse events (SAEs) of the previous week said, “The only patients sicker than ours are underground.”

Anyone who has ever spent more than ten minutes in a wound clinic knows that our patients are anything but healthy. Our acuity levels mirror the dialysis and transplant units. We check the obituaries when our patients miss appointments.

The Chronic Wound Epidemic

Although it should be, this is not just a minor annoyance. A procession of anecdotal observations on the failing health of the wound care space—in a time of flux and disarray—is neither enlightening nor supportive. The article itself focuses on the use of expensive products in wound care. In comparison to other medical specialties, such as oncology or cardiology, our products are inexpensive and cost effective. Chronic wounds are an unacknowledged epidemic. The huge increase in spending has less to do with the cost of wound care products than it does to the staggering number of patients who need them. Why is wound care research so poorly funded? The National Institutes of Health (NIH) does not even have a wound care division … read more

MediWound Completes Enrollment in NexoBrid®

U.S. Phase 3 DETECT Study

YAVNE, Israel, June 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MediWound Ltd. (Nasdaq:MDWD), a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company bringing innovative therapies to address unmet needs in severe burn and wound management, today announced it has completed enrollment in NexoBrid®U.S. Phase 3 DETECT study. Top-line acute data are currently expected around year end 2018.

read more

What is a deep tissue injury?

A deep tissue injury is a unique form of pressure ulcer. The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel defines a deep tissue injury as “A pressure-related injury to subcutaneous tissues under intact skin. Initially, these lesions have the appearance of a deep bruise. These lesions may herald the subsequent development of a Stage III-IV pressure ulcer even with optimal treatment.”(NPAUP, 2005). Why is it important to have yet another stage for pressure ulcers? The answer lies in the fact that, even with proper treatment, deep tissue injuries can deteriorate quickly into your worst nightmare.

The Problem With Deep Tissue Injuries

The problem with deep tissue injuries is that they are not readily apparent. A patient who has fallen at home and lain on the floor for a day may be admitted to the hospital and have every inch of skin examined upon admission, and then develop the tell-tale area of purplish discoloration several days after admission. In many cases, hospitals and other care facilities are being blamed (and payment is being withheld) when patients end up with a gaping hole in their sacrum that takes several months (and several trips to the OR) to heal, if they don’t succumb to their injury … read more

Wound healing is complex, almost miraculous process

Without the ability to heal wounds every scratch, nick, scrape and cut would remain open, a permanent and painful reminder of the body’s frailty.

Yet this basic process of life goes largely unrecognized because it works so effectively.

Wound healing requires the activation of over 10,000 genes, a precise, sequential release of hundreds of chemicals and the growth, division and migration of millions of different types of cells. It is usually only when wound healing fails, leaving us with a chronic wound, that we ever are aware of the process.

Normal wound healing involves four distinct phases: the clotting of blood, inflammation, proliferation and remodeling. Chemicals released from the cells of the damaged capillaries, the work of platelets and formation of the blood clot initiate the healing process …. full article

Healogics settles False Claims allegations

agrees to pay up to $22 million

Healogics has agreed to pay up to $22 million to settle allegations that it knowingly billed Medicare for medically unnecessary therapies, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

The Jacksonville-based company manages the hyperbaric oxygen therapy centers at more than 700 hospital-based wound care facilities across the country and is one of the largest in the nation. The company has several centers in Central Florida.

According to the Justice Department, between 2010 and 2015 Healogics knowingly caused wound care centers to bill Medicare for hyperbaric oxygen therapies that were medically unnecessary and unreasonable.

The allegations stem from two whistleblower lawsuits, one filed by a former director for research and quality at Healogics and another filed by several doctors and employees at Healogics-affiliated wound care centers.

“Medicare beneficiaries are entitled to care based on their clinical needs and not the financial goals of healthcare providers,” said Chad Readler, the Justice Department’s … read full article

Healogics to Host Scientific Symposium on Diabetic Wound Healing Innovations

The Healogics symposium will include an overview of diabetic wound identification, prevention and care, and a discussion on leveraging data to improve wound care.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Healogics, Inc., the foremost advanced wound care services provider for hospitals, is honored to be hosting a scientific symposium entitled Innovations in Diabetic Wound Healing at the American Diabetes Association 78th Scientific Sessions. The symposium will be taking place on Saturday, June 23 in Orlando, Florida.

The symposium will be led by Healogics Chief Medical Officer, Dr. William Ennis and Organogenesis Vice President of Global and Medical Affairs, Dr. Shabnam Vaezzadeh. There will be presentations from Healogics Medical Director, Dr. Jaime Wise, the Founder and President of the “Save A Leg, Save A Life” Foundation, Dr. Desmond Bell and the Medical Director of the Acute Care Orthopedic Program at Genesis Hospital, Dr. Amy Tucker. The symposium will include an overview of diabetic wound identification, prevention and care, and a discussion on leveraging data to improve wound care. Data will also be shared on wound healing outcomes of more than half a million wounds treated in Healogics outpatient clinics. The use of machine learning and predictive analytics in diabetic wound care will also be discussed … read more

New Products & Practices for Wound Care

Apps, HydroClean and Honey?

According to PR Newswire, the wound care biologics market is expected to earn 1.42 billion US dollars in 2018. That number is expected to skyrocket by the year 2023, when the market is expected to increase to 2.26 billion US dollars.

That is a jaw-dropping amount of money that we’re spending on wound care. What’s going on?

There are several factors that are driving up the those wound care dollars – primarily diabetic foot ulcers, the aging geriatric population, and a general increase in burn injuries globally.

With the ever-increasing number of wounds requiring advanced wound care, there is new products and practices. Here’s a quick update … read more

Wound management in a case of an open amniotic band

syndrome in a 31-week-old preterm baby

This is a case study of a 31-week-old preterm baby presented with severe amniotic band syndrome of the left leg at birth. Circumferential band with skin defect, exposing the subcutaneous tissue and periosteum of the left tibia was visible on the distal third of the left leg. The left dorsalis pedis artery and posterior tibialis artery pulsations were not palpable, but detectable with handheld Doppler ultrasound device. The capillary refilling time of the toes was good. While waiting for stabilisation of patient’s condition due to the poor lung function, wound management played a role in this case to protect the exposed left tibia from dehydration and necrosis as well as prevention of infection via the skin defect. Wound closure of the left leg was successfully achieved in 18 days … read more

Wound Care Challenges: When The Lymphatic System Doesn’t Work

Due to difficulty defining lymphatic markers, difficulty visualizing vessels with traditional methods, and emphasis on the vascular system, research into the development of the lymphatics is still in its infancy–with many theories still to be proven. Without a doubt, it starts development in week 5, perhaps from the veins or the mesenchyme. Then, in weeks 6-9, sacs are formed in the neck, groin, posterior abdominal wall, and in the gut. Ducts grow and connect the different sacs while lymphatic vessels grow peripherally to the head, neck, arms, gut, and legs. The sacs become the lymph nodes, except for the upper portion of the gut sac: the cisterna chyli. Mesenchymal cells infiltrate the nodes and develop channels, capsule, and node framework. Lymphocytes appear just before birth in the nodes from the thymus. Lymph organs form from mesenchymal cells and clumping of lymph nodules.

So, from week 5 to the final week of gestation, the lymphatic system is developing. A spontaneous mutation at any point, injury to the fetus, a hereditary malformation, or a preterm delivery can all affect the lymphatic system of a child. This deficit can be apparent at birth, or latently appear at any time in their life, depending on where the deficit is … read more

Dressing Selection: Which Dressing to Choose?

Dressing selections can be overwhelming for clinicians and providers in health care. There are now well over 6,000 wound care products on the market. Ideally, there would be a multifunctional smart dressing that could “do it all” readily available in all settings. Unfortunately, we as health care providers know, that definitely isn’t the case.

Dressing category education plays a vital role in wound management. Knowing the functionality and appropriateness of the dressing is key in enhancing the wound healing process. As wound care clinicians, we want to be in a mindset of looking at our whole patient. However, let’s not forget the Wound Care Basics 101: wound bed preparation, monitoring, patient compliance, appropriateness of dressing, and addressing underlying factors or causes.

Biofilm formation is also a culprit for impeding wound healing. Most, if not all, ulcers develop a biofilm over time. It is reported 60% to 90% of chronic wounds contain a biofilm. Therefore, selecting the appropriate dressing for effectiveness is imperative … read more

Micelle‐Coated, Hierarchically Structured Nanofibers with Dual‐Release

Capability for Accelerated Wound Healing and Infection Control

Tailoring nanofibrous matrices—a material with much promise for wound healing applications—to simultaneously mitigate bacterial colonization and stimulate wound closure of infected wounds is highly desirable. To that end, a dual‐releasing, multiscale system of biodegradable electrospun nanofibers coated with biocompatible micellar nanocarriers is reported. For wound healing, transforming growth factor‐β1 is incorporated into polycaprolactone/collagen (PCL/Coll) nanofibers via electrospinning and the myofibroblastic differentiation of human dermal fibroblasts is locally stimulated. To prevent infection, biocompatible nanocarriers of polypeptide‐based block copolymer micelles are deposited onto the surfaces of PCL/Coll nanofibers using tannic acid as a binding partner. Micelle‐modified fibrous scaffolds are favorable for wound healing, not only supporting the attachment and spreading of fibroblasts comparable to those on noncoated nanofibers … read more

Molecular Diagnosis of SSTIs May Yield Better Clinical Outcomes

Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Diabetic wound is the most common cause of non-traumatic
lower extremity amputation, and response to traditional
interventions is poor in many patients. The lifetime risk of
developing an ulcer among diabetics is 25%, and recurrent
wounds are common after healing. Stigmatization, social
isolation, unemployment, and depression are some of the
negative consequence of Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) on the
quality of life of diabetics. DFU adds a substantial economic
burden to afflicted patients and health systems, primarily
attributable to frequent hospitalization, medication, surgical
procedures, amputation, prosthesis, rehabilitation, and loss of
productivity … read more

Negative-Pressure Therapy No Better for Open Fractures

Negative-pressure therapy does not improve 12 month outcomes compared with standard wound dressings in adults with severe open fractures of the lower limb, according to a study published online June 12 in JAMA.

The study is the largest randomized controlled trial (RCT) to compare negative-pressure therapy to standard wound care in this setting.

“The findings do not support this treatment for severe open fractures,” write Matthew Costa, PhD, from the University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom, and colleagues with the UK Wound management of Open Lower Limb Fractures (WOLLF) Collaboration … read more

Dressing Selection: Which Dressing to Choose?

APHB: SUCCESSFUL CASE REPORTS PRESENTED FOR AB-SA01 AND AB-PA01

Multiple Case Reports Presented for Patients Treated with AB-SA01 and AB-PA01

On June 7, 2018, AmpliPhi Biosciences Corp. (NYSE:APHB) reported that multiple case reports on patients treated with the company’s lead bacteriophage development products, AB-SA01 and AB-PA01, were presented at the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) Annual Meeting and the 41st European Cystic Fibrosis Conference. Topline results from these cases had previously been announced by AmpliPhi with the presentations providing additional details.

At ASM, a presentation described four cases of severe Staphylococcus aureus infection treated with AB-SA01. Three of the cases involved patients with endovascular infection and one case of severe vertebral osteomyelitis with epidural abscess. For all the patients, medical and surgical therapy options had been exhausted. Patients were treated with 3×109 plaque-forming units of AB-SA01 intravenously twice-daily for two weeks in combination with the best antibiotic therapy available. The bacteriophage therapy was well tolerated in all patients with no reports of serious adverse events … read more

These Plasma Patches Could Replace Antibiotics to Treat Chronic Wounds

The German company Coldplasmatech is using the weirdest state of matter to fight superbugs and accelerate healing.

Star Trek is often credited with inspiring real-life technologies, from wireless gadgets to video conferences. Now, a German company called Coldplasmatech has pioneered a “PlasmaPatch” which, much like Star Trek’s “dermal regenerator,” is designed to disinfect and heal wounds.

The device leverages the properties of plasma, the least familiar state of matter to humans, which is normally found in high-energy environments such as stars. Plasma can also be artificially generated at lower temperatures by applying electrical currents to a gas or liquid insulator … read more

Osiris Announces Implementation of Prestige Lyotechnology℠

Preservation Method Allowing Ambient Storage of Living Tissues

COLUMBIA, Md., June 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Osiris Therapeutics, Inc.(OTC Pink:OSIR), a regenerative medicine company focused on developing and marketing products for wound care, orthopedics, and sports medicine, announced today the implementation of Prestige Lyotechnology for manufacturing of commercial products.

In 2017, Osiris announced the development of Prestige Lyotechnology, a preservation technique for ambient storage of living tissues (see http://www.osiris.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-03-30-Prestige-Lyo-Nature-article-PR-FINAL.pdf). In April 2018, studies describing properties of viable lyopreserved tissues were presented at scientific conferences including the Annual Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) and Wound Healing Society (WHS) (see http://www.osiris.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-04-24-Osiris-to-Present-at-SAWC-Spring-2018-FINAL.pdf).

read more

Atypical Wounds: Scleroderma, Marjolin’s Ulcer

and Kaposi’s Sarcoma (Part 2)

By Martin Vera, LVN, CWS

Part 2 in a series discussing the etiology, assessment and management of atypical wounds. Read Part 1 here.

As our journey through the exciting and uncharted, choppy waters of atypical wounds comes to a close, I discuss a few more wounds. The purpose and goal of this blog are to create awareness of other wounds that exist and instill the curiosity in my fellow clinicians to get our research done.

This blog describes a few atypical wounds, including scleroderma, Marjolin’s ulcer, and Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS). Even with the previous discussion of atypical wounds in this two-part series, many other atypical wounds exist, and I encourage and challenge you to educate yourselves and others, continue doing the research necessary to continue the battle to prevent and heal these wounds, and increase awareness to achieve early detection and have better chances for positive outcomes … read more

These Smart Socks Keep Tabs on People With Diabetes

Diabetes patients are at an increased risk of amputation, so Siren’s Neurofabric socks track the temperature of patients’ feet and alert them about worrying temperature differences.

We’ve been hearing about “smart fabrics” that respond to the human wearer for years but little has transpired, apart from floaty dresses that light up with LEDs, or mod-style parkas threaded with charging cords. But something that saves your life? That’s worth a look.

PCMag was in San Francisco recently and sat down with Ran Ma, CEO and Founder of Siren, the company behind Neurofabric, a microsensor-embedded textile featured in its Diabetic Socks and Foot Monitoring System. It won a CES 2018 Innovation Award and has seed funding of $3.4 million from DCM, Khosla Ventures, and Founders Fund … read more

Cynata’s Cymerus™ MSCs Effective in Preclinical Model of Diabetic Wounds

MELBOURNE, Australia, June 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Australian stem cell and regenerative medicine company Cynata Therapeutics Limited (ASX:CYP) is pleased to announce that it has received positive data demonstrating the efficacy of its Cymerus™ mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in a preclinical model of diabetic wounds (also known as diabetic ulcers). The studies were conducted independently by the Cooperative Research Centre for Cell Therapy Manufacturing (CTM CRC) and were designed to compare cells from various sources.

Key Highlights:

Cymerus MSCs resulted in significantly faster wound healing than bone marrow-derived MSCs
Discussions between Cynata and CTM CRC are underway regarding progressing Cymerus MSCs and CTM CRC’s wound-dressing technology into a clinical trial in human patients with diabetic foot ulcers
Diabetic wounds are prevalent among the 400m+ diabetics globally and a significant opportunity exists to improve existing treatments and meet a growing unmet medical need

CTM CRC, based in Adelaide, South Australia, is developing an active wound care dressing for the treatment of diabetic wounds. This novel dressing, for which a patent is pending, consists of a polymer-coated silicone dressing seeded with MSCs or similar cells … read more

Advanced Wound Care Management Market Estimated to Expand

at a 6.3% CAGR Through 2025

Albany, NY — (SBWIRE) — 05/26/2018 — Global Advanced Wound Care Management Market: Snapshot

The global market for advanced wound care management is poised for healthy growth in the upcoming years. Rising incidence of chronic wounds that require timely medical care before transforming into infection or other complications is fuelling the advanced wound care management market. Increasing prevalence of diabetic ulcers due to increasing incidence of diabetes I and II mellitus especially in developed countries is stoking demand for advanced wound care products. Worldwide, growing geriatric population susceptible to falls and injuries that can convert into chronic wounds is aiding the advanced wound care management market.

Request A Sample … read more

Healogics Shines a Light on Chronic Wounds with Fifth Annual Wound Care Awareness Week

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Healogics, Inc., the nation’s leading provider of advanced wound care services, is proud to sponsor the fifth annual Wound Care Awareness Week from June 4 to June 8, 2018. Throughout this week, Healogics team members from around the country will be working together to shed light on the chronic wound epidemic and bring awareness to the advanced wound care options available. Unfortunately, the incidence of chronic wounds is only expected to rise over the next decade, making awareness and advanced wound care more important now than ever before.

Chronic wounds affect approximately 6.7 million people in the U.S. and an excess of $50 billion is spent annually on treatment. The prevalence of chronic wounds is growing in tandem with an aging population and increasing rates of diseases such as diabetes and peripheral arterial disease, and conditions like obesity and the late effects of radiation therapy. Untreated, chronic wounds can lead to diminished quality of life and possibly amputation of the affected limb. It is in this context that Healogics also created the Wound Science Initiative – a collaborative effort to educate and engage key stakeholders in government and across the healthcare system on the poorly understood and underserved needs of people with non-healing wounds.

About Healogics

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., Healogics and its affiliated companies manage a network of 700 outpatient Wound Care Centers® across the United States and multiple locations in the United Kingdom. Healogics currently has more than 3,000 employees, including nearly 300 employed providers (Healogics Specialty Providers). In addition to the company’s network of outpatient Wound Care Centers, Healogics providers partner with over 400 skilled nursing facilities to care for patients with chronic wounds. More than 300,000 patients were treated by Healogics providers in 2017. For additional information, please visit Healogics.com.

Contacts

Healogics, Inc.
Leslie Niblock, 904-524-2695
Director, Corporate Communications
Leslie.Niblock@healogics.com

Press Release BusinessWire

Acellular Flowable Matrix in the Treatment of Tunneled or Cavity Ulcers in Diabetic Feet:

A Preliminary Report

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

The authors aimed to explore the feasibility and safety of an advanced, acellular, flowable wound matrix (FWM) in patients with diabetes-related cavity or tunnel lesions involving deep structures.

METHODS:

Patients with diabetic foot ulcers were hospitalized at the General and Geriatric Surgery Unit of the University of Campania in Naples, Italy, between March 2015 and December 2015. Twenty-three patients with tunneled or cavity ulcers were treated. The lesions were filled with the FWM. Surgical wound edges were either approximated with stitches or left to heal by secondary intention.

MAIN RESULTS:

After 6 weeks, 78.26% of patients completely healed after a single application of the FWM. The healing time for all healed wounds was 30.85 ± 12.62 days, or 26.11 ± 5.43 days in patients for whom wound edges were approximated by stitches, and 57.66 ± 3.05 days in the patients who healed by secondary intention (P = .01). Permanent tissue regeneration was observed in a high percentage of patients, and shorter healing time was achieved. Study authors observed a low rate of complications such as major amputation and increased hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONS:

The FWM seems ideal for tunneled and cavity ulcers with irregular geometry. This new porous matrix allows closure of the lesion while reducing healing time and demolition surgery

From PubMed

Origami Inspires New Tech for Tissue Regeneration

Origami – the Japanese art of folding paper into shapes and figures – dates back to the sixth century. At UMass Lowell, it is inspiring researchers as they develop a 21st century solution to the shortage of tissue and organ donors.

Gulden Camci-Unal, an assistant professor of chemical engineering, and her team of student researchers are designing new biomaterials that could someday be used to repair, replace or regenerate skin, bone, cartilage, heart valves, heart muscle and blood vessels, and in other applications.

Using origami as inspiration, Camci-Unal and her team are using plain paper to create centimeter-scale scaffoldings where the cells can grow and then applying microfabrication techniques to generate new biomaterials known as tissue mimetics.

“Paper is a low-cost, widely available and extremely flexible material that can be easily fabricated into three-dimensional structures of various shapes, sizes and configurations,” said Camci-Unal … read more

CBIC honors local tech entrepreneurs, students, teachers

Eleven leaders in tech — from high school students to large companies — were honored Thursday night during the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council’s annual awards gala.

The CBIC, a nonprofit council of technology-related businesses, organizes the gala every year to celebrate the area’s achievements in innovation.

“There’s so many things happening in Charlottesville, but it’s nowhere in one place,” said 2018 CBIC Student Entrepreneur of the Year Ashwinraj Karthikeyan. “Here, you can talk to all sorts of people doing really cool things in the entrepreneurial community.”

A recent graduate of the University of Virginia, Karthikeyan founded the chronic wound care company InMEDBio as a student. His award included a $1,000 grant.

More than 400 people attended the event at the Paramount Theater, which included a showcase of early-stage startups and an optional dance party.

“Two years ago, when I came to my first one of these, that’s where I met the person who helped make our first prototype,” said gala attendee Arjun Dirghangi while manning a table for his medical startup, Scanoptix … read more

Atypical Wounds: Scleroderma, Marjolin’s Ulcer

and Kaposi’s Sarcoma (Part 2)

By Martin Vera, LVN, CWS

Part 2 in a series discussing the etiology, assessment and management of atypical wounds. Read Part 1 here.

American Biotech Labs, LLC Receives Awards

and New Approvals

AMERICAN FORK, UT, May 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ – American Biotech Labs, LLC (ABL) has received three new awards including: Total Health Magazine’s “Award of Excellence” and two Best of State awards for “Health and Wellness” and “Medical Manufacturing“. ABL is a health and wellness biotech company that continues to innovate products for the medical and health industries and has received a number of FDA clearances for wound dressing gel products, including antibacterial products for both wound dressing and wound cleansing.

ABL has now engineered the power of silver into antimicrobial moisturizing lotions and creams. Said Keith Moeller, CEO of American Biotech Labs, “Creating lotions and creams that are made with the antimicrobial advanced healing power of silver is a pretty daunting task, but being able to keep the moisturizers at greater than 99% organic, shows the true excellence of what we have created”.

Health Canada has already approved for sales and distribution these new antibacterial lotion and cream products and distribution is anticipated to begin in the Canadian markets within the next few months. In the US markets, ABL has begun distribution of these powerful lotion and cream cosmetic products under the Silver Biotics brand of products.

Press release from PR Newswire

Imaging, surgical techniques may advance treatment of the diabetic foot

BARCELONA, Spain — The usual practices of orthopedic surgeons to manage the diabetic foot, including taking a team approach to this condition, have not changed but imaging and new technology and surgical approaches are playing a greater role in helping patients with a diabetic or Charcot foot joint recover, according to a presentation by Önder I. Kilicoglu, MD, at the EFORT Annual Congress.

“This is the real trend: The percent of diabetic patients is increasing in the Mediterranean area,” Kilicoglu, a professor at Istanbul University, said … read more