MEDICAL TEXTILES, LEEDS: THINGS THAT REALLY MATTER
Dr. Parikshit Goswami
Centre for Technical Textiles, University of Leeds, UK
Lecturer in Textile Technology
NIFT Kolkata
About me
• Lecturer in Textile Technology
• MSc Medical Textiles Programme Leader
• Member of Board Working Group on Sustainability-EDANA
• Research Interest
oChemical functionalisation of materials
SCHOOL OF DESIGN,UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
School of Design
Medical Textiles
Textiles, Leeds and open innovation
Textiles at Leeds
A Brand Name…
Medical textiles
• Externally funded healthcare-related research
oca. £3 million
• An extensive and constantly evolving area
• Simple wipe to a complex composite structure for bone replacement
• Areas of application:
oImplantable materials/tissue engineering (artificial ligaments etc)
oNon-implantable materials (wound dressings, hygiene products, ostomy pouches)
oHealthcare environment materials (surgical gowns, materials to reduce healthcare associated infection (HAI))
A Few Case Studies…
Drug Delivery Patches
Drug delivery systems
Transdermal drug delivery patches
• One billion transdermal patches- manufactured each year
• Conventional patches-
oUp to 95 % of the active drug remains in the patch
oExpensive and disposal issues
oOnly one drug could be delivered
Leeds technology
• The technology developed at Leeds
oShow superiority to existing patches
oHigher drug exhaustion
oLonger lifetime of the patch
oImproved control on drug release profile
oProvides sustained bioavailability
oMore than one drug could be loaded in the patch
oWith separate and controlled release profiles
Who will really benefit from this technology?
Alzheimer’s disease
• Alzheimer’s disease- most common cause of dementia
o Accounting for 50-60 % of cases
• Affects 15 million people worldwide
oParticularly those over 80 years of age
o24-33 % of people aged 85 or over in the Western world
oRegarded as a major threat to public health
• Feasibility of using Leeds Technology
oDemonstrated using two Alzheimer’s drug compounds
FDA considers patches as ‘combination products’ consisting of a medical device and drug product.
Ostomy Pouch
Ostomy pouch
• Over 120,000 people live with a stoma in the UKoSurgically-created opening in the bowel
oAllows the removal of waste out of the body
oInto a pouch or other collection device- Ostomy pouch
• Three main types of stomaoColostomy, Ileostomy, Urostomy
o1.23 million new cases of large bowel cancer were diagnosed in 2008
o333,000 were in Europe (EU 27)
Ostomy pouch
• The NHS spends more than £630 million each year in England oProducts such as stoma appliances, incontinence pads and dressings
• Growing problem-oIncreasing bowel cancer incidence
oFalling mortality rates
oIncreasing population
oIncreased life expectancy
Inevitably will lead to the creation of more stomas
Stoma patients
• Major concern amongst stoma patients
• Changing and disposing of their ostomy deviceoCurrent disposal practices are crude and unhygienic
oResults in:
Poor psychological adjustment
Impaired quality of life
Social withdrawal
Environmental impact
• In the UK alone-o36.5 million used stoma pouches are disposed off every year
oPrimarily to landfill sites
• Some diseases found in faecal matter oToxoplasmosis, tape worm, hook warm
oCan survive for up to 10 years
• Faecal contamination can include oHepatitis A, B or C, fungal spores, worm infestations
o A number of pathogenic organisms and other infectious diseases
Waste disposal- flushability
• Landfill sites are decreasing in numberoLimited biodegradation in landfill (if any?)
• Incineration?
• Contaminated fabrics?
• Massive infrastructure already in placeoSewage farm - an industrial biodegradation process
• Disposable nonwoven products being brought to marketoFlushability of products – not as significant in design
oDisposable products have revolutionised modern lifestyle
oNeed to address waste management issues
Present state-of-the-art
• Only Partially Flushable• 4 layers
Leeds Technology
• First commercially available fully flushable ostomy pouch
• User perspectiveoNo soiled waste to carry away from the toilet
oRemoving many of the concerns related to-
Lack of discretion and fear of exposure
psychological issues, social withdrawal
extended dependence on NHS nursing
• The novelty of this productoCapture a significant proportion of the current market
Does it really matter…
• UK is managed centrally- NHS
• Project is in collaboration with Welland MedicaloBritish Company
o32 distributers worldwide
oDirect exploitation of the market
Market size
• The market for ostomy and incontinence products
• Steady, large and growing market
• Projected to reach $11.1 billion by the year 2015
• The largest markets for ostomy productsoThe United States, Japan and Europe
• The European MarketoWorth between $780 million and $1 billion
o Growing rates 5-7%
oUnited Kingdom accounted for more than 75% of the European market
Product performance
Chronic Kidney Diseases (CKD)
How big is the problem?
• CKD- In England, between 2009-2010
oMore than 1.8 million people have been diagnosed
oFurther million people- not yet been officially diagnosed
oOnly cure- kidney transplantation
oSignificantly reduced quality of life
oAnd associated diseases (e.g. cardiovascular diseases)
oHigh mortality rates
• For NHS
o2009-2010- £1.64 billion (renal problems)
CKD
• Kidney filters waste products from the blood
oExcretes them via the formation of urine
• Malfunction or failure of the kidney
oMetabolic and dietary waste products gradually accumulate within the body (Uremic Toxins)
oResults in malfunction of cells and organs
oOver 150 different toxins ((European Uremic Toxin Work Group)
Chronic Kidney Diseases (CKD)
Uremic toxins
Uremic Toxins
Water soluble, low mol. wt.(e.g. urea and creatinine)
Middle molecular weight(e.g. β2-microglobulin and cytokines)
Protein bound(e.g. indolic and phenolic compounds)
Fundamental approach for treatment-
Is the removal of these toxins from the blood.
Current treatment
• Haemodialysis- widely used in the treatment of CKD
o Artificial removal processes
o To mimic the natural function of the kidney
Haemofiltration and Haemodiafiltration
None capable of effectively remove all types of toxins from the blood
Project at Leeds
Been identified to attribute to cardiovascular disease and progression of kidney failure
Project at Leeds
• Clinical need to remove large protein bound molecule is clear
• Our approach
oWith an additional novel filter system
oStable bonding reagent (synthesised at Leeds)
oFabricated using nano-technology
oThis can specifically capture target molecules (uremic toxins)
The Design
Advantages
• Improvement in patients’ quality of life
oBy reducing cardiovascular diseases
• Reduced mortality rates
• Reduced treatment time frequency
• An optimised dialysis treatment
oContribute to cost reduction within the health care sector
Wound Dressing
Wound dressing
Chronic wounds: 6.5 million people - $25 billion
Impaired healing – Inflammation stage is prolonged
Resistance to antibiotics
Silver impregnated dressings
Alternative metals, e.g. zinc as well as non-metal bactericides
Naturally derived compounds?
Nature…
Why antimicrobial?
Fundamental work on the delivery mechanism…
Hybrid Nanofibre Nonwovens from Chitosan/Cellulose Acetate
G. Salihu, P.Goswami, and S. Russell, “Hybrid electrospun nonwovens from chitosan/cellulose acetate,” Cellulose, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 739–749, 2012.
Stratification approach to Healthcare
Let’s consider three very good friends…
Thank youAny Questions?
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