Freudenberg Nonwovens, Germany, is celebrating 40 years of medical textile innovations. The company began producing activated carbon filters in the 1970s. These filters are still used in stoma pouches. In the 1980s, it introduced nonwoven pads to adhesive bandages, replacing the knitted pads previously used in such products. During the 1990s, it added antimicrobial finishes to the nonwovens used in adhesive bandages.
Freudenberg has focused recent efforts on advanced wound care — particularly moist wound care, which encourages new tissue to grow while preventing scab formation, and can halve healing time compared to dry healing treatments. The company has engineered nonwovens using chitosan fibers for the moist treatment of chronic wounds. Chitosan, a biopolymer derived from the shells of sea crustaceans, has been shown to stop bleeding and heal wounds faster than other wound-care products.
“One goal for us is to stimulate the human body’s capacity to heal itself following an acute injury,” said Oliver Heneric, Ph.D., head of Freudenberg Nonwovens’ Medical Segment. “And another is to help make life easier for people with chronic wounds, like diabetics.”
Freudenberg credits close, long-standing relationships with its customers for many of its developments.
“We have a close and trusting collaboration with Europe’s leading medical device manufacturers and can offer customers individual product solutions based on our long-standing experience worldwide,” said Bernd Schlesselmann, Ph.D., head of medical nonwovens research and development, Freudenberg Nonwovens.
July/August 2014
