This research was supported by the Institute for Pediatric Innovation via Philips Children’s Medical Ventures and the National Institutes of Health (DE013023 and GM086433). Such injuries in babies and the elderly-populations with fragile skin-can range from skin irritation to permanent scarring. There are more than 1.5 million injuries each year in the U.S. “This is one of the biggest problems faced in the neonate units, where the patients are helpless and repeatedly wrapped in medical tapes designed for adult skin,” said Bryan Laulicht, of the Division of Biomedical Engineering at Brigham and Women’s and lead study author. Once the backing is peeled off, any remaining adhesive left on the skin can safely be rolled off with a finger using a “push and roll” technique. The researchers employed laser etching and a release liner to create the anisotropic interface, resulting in a medical tape with high shear strength (for strong adhesion) and low peel force (for safe, quick removal). The anisotropic properties of this middle layer mean that it has different physical properties depending on direction wood, for example, is stronger along the grain than across it. The approach incorporates an anisotropic adhesive interface between the backing and adhesive layers. “Our approach transitions the fracture zone away from the skin to the adhesive-backing interface, thus completely preventing any harm during removal.” ![]() With adults the adhesive fails, leaving small remnants of adhesive on the skin, while with fragile neonate skin, the fracture is more likely to occur in the skin, causing significant damage,” said Karp. “Current adhesive tapes that contain backing and adhesive layers are tailored to fracture at the adhesive-skin interface. The tape achieves strong adhesion when securing medical devices to skin, but can also peel off safely and easily, utilizing a three-layer design approach that sets a new paradigm for quick-release medical tapes. The research was conducted in collaboration with Robert Langer, HMS senior lecturer on surgery and the David H. The study detailing the tape design was published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Oct. The team, led by Jeffrey Karp, HMS associate professor of medicine in the Division of Biomedical Engineering at Brigham and Women’s and senior study author in collaboration with The Institute for Pediatric Innovation, defined the need and requirements for a new neonatal adhesive based on national surveys of neonatal clinicians. ![]() Is it in an area where the skin doesn’t move a lot? Steri-strips may not work well on joints or other areas where it may have trouble staying in place.Commercial medical tapes on the market today are great at keeping medical devices attached to the skin, but often can do damage-such as skin-tissue tearing-once it’s time to remove them.Ī research team from HMS and Brigham and Women’s Hospital has invented a quick-release tape that has the strong adhesion properties of commercial medical tape, but without the “ouch factor” upon removal.Is the wound less than a 1/2 inch in length? Steri-Strips aren’t recommended for cuts that are a 1/2 inch or longer.Don’t use Steri-Strips if the cut is still bleeding after 5 minutes. Is the bleeding light and manageable? Use a sterile cloth to put pressure on the cut for at least 5 minutes.Are the edges of the wound straight? Steri-Strips are best for shallow cuts that have straight, clean edges.When considering whether to use Steri-Strips to close a wound, you’ll want to ask yourself the following questions: Steri-Strips are sometimes a better option than regular stitches because they don’t need to be sewn into the skin and can be easily removed when the wound heals. ![]() This reduces the chance of introducing any bacteria or other substances into the cut. They help seal wounds by pulling the two sides of the skin together without making any contact with the actual wound. Steri-Strips are typically used for cuts or wounds that aren’t too severe, or for minor surgery.
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