Applied Science and Engineering of Wound Dressings and Their Clinical Effectiveness: From Design Principles to Physiological Performance

Applied Science and Engineering of Wound Dressings and their Clinical Effectiveness: From Design Principles to Physiological Performance addresses the measurable physical, chemical, biomaterial, fluid structure, mechanical and thermal characteristics that are imperative for a dressing to effectively treat acute and chronic wounds. Divided into two parts, the book discusses the properties of wound dressings, their structure, and how they interact with skin surfaces based on scientific investigation and testing. It also discusses potential tradeoffs, including associated costs of manufacturing, clinical performance characteristics of a dressing, e.g., ease of application and removal, the ability of the dressing to stay in place, and more.

This book will be valuable for all professionals involved in the treatment of all types of wounds, including biomedical engineers, material scientists, clinicians across all the relevant medical disciplines, industrialists and regulatory professionals in the field of wound care, academics, scientists and entrepreneurs in the field of medical devices, and undergraduate and graduate bioengineering and medical engineering students who are interested in the structure and function of wound dressings.

• Focuses specifically on the holistic science, engineering and medical-clinical applications of wound dressings
• Provides the most up-to-date knowledge on the design and evaluation of performances of wound dressings in both the acute and chronic wound fields
• Reviews relevant measurable physical, chemical, biomaterial, fluid-structure, mechanical and thermal characteristics that are important for a wound dressing to effectively treat acute and chronic tissue damage
• Describes the clinical practice and patient experience criteria that are pivotal for a dressing to effectively treat acute injuries and chronic wounds
• Discusses the direct healthcare costs involved in wound care, including the hospital environment, as well as specific nursing costs, the cost of the actual dressings, their supply/storage, and the costs associated with applying and removing the prescribed dressings

Professor Amit Gefen received the B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Tel Aviv University in 1994, 1997, and 2001, respectively. During 2002-2003 he was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. He is currently a Full Professor with the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of Tel Aviv University and the Herbert J. Berman Chair in Vascular Bioengineering. Prof. Gefen has also been the Head of the Ela Kodesz Institute for Medical Engineering and Physical Sciences at Tel Aviv University. The research interests of Prof. Gefen are in studying normal and pathological effects of biomechanical factors on the structure and function of cells, tissues and organs, with emphasis on applications in chronic wound research. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Biomechanics (published by Elsevier), and has also edited several books
and several Special Issues in journals such as the Annals of Biomedical Engineering, Journal of Biomechanics, Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering and more. Recently, Prof. Gefen chaired the Etiology expert panel for development of the International Pressure Ulcer Prevention & Treatment Guidelines (2019) and also chaired the global panel of experts who developed the International Consensus Document for Device-related Pressure Ulcers, published by the Journal of Wound Care (2020).