First line of defence

01/01/2011

(Future Materials) - A new range of medical garments repels fluids and resists stains, while keeping the wearer clean, cool and dry. Tara Hounslea reports.

Vestex, the range of high-tech, fluid-repellent lab coats from USbased Vestagen Technical Textiles, is gaining growing acclaim in the fight to prevent contamination in health care textiles. The range was launched in 2009 after Ben Favret, a biotech industry engineer, asked why doctors and nurses were still wearing scrubs and lab coats made from unsophisticated cotton blends. The University of South Florida College of Medicine’s Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine is instituting the range, engineered as a first line of defence against blood and other bodily fluids, for its physicians and advanced clinical staff.

“There is a clear and urgent need for our technology in America’s hospital,” says Ben Favret, founder and CEO of Vestagen. “It is well documented that medical textiles can become contaminated with dangerous pathogens, including the bacterium methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).”

Vestex garments contain a proprietary blend of three Swiss patented technologies to repel blood and bodily fluids, wick away perspiration, guard against degredation from microorganisms, and control odours. NanoSphere creates a microscopically- V structured surface so fluids, dirt and oils cannot adhere to the surface, so form beads and literally fall off. The technology binds to the individual fibres of the fabric to keep garments breathable and highly durable, unlike a fabric coating.

The garments also contain Semeltec, a silane-based quaternary ammonium chloride antimicrobial to prevent degradation from microorganisms and control odours.

Vestex’s hydrophilic properties, meanwhile, wick moisture away from the skin on the inside of the fabric, which enables rapid evaporation and simulates the body’s natural cooling process. The fabric’s hydrophobic properties on the outside of the garments protect against fluids and staining, as well as resisting perspiration from being transported to the outside of the garment. The 3XDRY technology enables the fabric to dry noticeably faster than untreated fabrics. The material has also been tested up to 100 washings and 5,000 abrasion cycles.

In recognition of this innovative technology, Vestex garments were named a Certified Best Practice by leading indoor environmental quality standards expert Environmental Health Technologies (EHT). “The technical standards for the effectiveness as well as human and environmental safety of health care textiles are complex and demanding. It requires extensive testing and documentation,” says John Langdon, MD and chief medical officer of EHT. “Vestex is a breakthrough solution and the only textile technology today to meet and exceed the EHT360 Certified Best Practice Standards.”

The performance benefits of Vestex were also recently documented during a clinical trial, conducted by the Department of Epidemiology and Infection Control at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). The 16- week, blind cross-over clinical trial compared levels of bacterial contamination, known as Colony Forming Unit (CFU) counts, on Vestex treated scrubs versus standard scrubs. More than 300 cultures were performed on 32 health care workers in a medical respiratory intensive care unit.

Gonzalo Bearman, associate professor of medicine, epidemiology and community medicine at VCU, said the results of the study were encouraging as the Vestex scrubs had significantly fewer MRSA colonies.

Vestex products include scrubs, lab coats, protective isolation gowns and longsleeved T-shirts.

Link to Full Article: http://www.textilemagazines.com/Future_Materials/FM-20q-12a-JanFeb-2011/pageflip.html

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