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Quick-Release Medical Tape Minimizes Neonatal Skin Injury
More than 1.5 million injuries are caused by medical tape removal each year in the U.S. Such injuries among populations with fragile skin, especially babies and the elderly, can range from skin irritation to permanent scarring.
A BWH research team has invented a quick-release tape that has the strong adhesion properties of commercial medical tape but lacks the "ouch factor" upon removal.
"This can be a problem in neonatal care units, where there aren't medical tape options designed specifically for babies," said lead study author Bryan Laulicht, PhD, of the BWH Division of Biomedical Engineering.
Laulicht, along with Jeffrey Karp, PhD, senior study author, created a tape that uses a unique three-layer design that achieves strong adhesion when securing medical devices to skin but also peels off easily and safely.
Researchers used laser etching technology and a special release liner so that the tape has a high shear strength for strong adhesion and low peel force for safe, quick removal. Once the backing is peeled off, any remaining adhesive left on the skin can safely be rolled off with a finger.
"Current adhesive tapes that contain backing and adhesive layers are tailored to break at the adhesive-skin interface, which can severely damage a baby's skin," said Karp. "Our tape transitions the break-zone away from the skin and onto the adhesive-backing interface. This completely prevents any harm to the baby's skin during removal."
Watch the video below for a demonstration of the quick-release medical tape.