Every year, 12 million traumatic open wounds are presented at U.S. emergency departments, and it is critical to thoroughly clean these wounds in order to prevent infection. A novel tap water wound irrigation device developed by Dr. Brian Sloan, an associate professor emeritus of clinical emergency medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, was recently awarded U.S. Patent No. 11,654,229 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Currently, saline irrigation devices are used to treat these wounds, but these devices are expensive and don’t pose a significant statistical difference in reduction of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in wounds compared to Sloan’s novel tap water irrigation device.
“The idea of a convenient, inexpensive and efficacious wound irrigation device that uses tap water instead of sterile saline will revolutionize the wound care industry,” Dr. Sloan said. “This device has been shown to effectively irrigate traumatic wounds with potable water, which decreases cost and provides clinicians with a professional, easy to use and readily available product. Clinicians have long understood the benefits of using tap water for wound irrigation, and now there is a device that can deliver tap water to open traumatic wounds in the emergency department, at urgent care, in developing countries and at home.”
Additionally, the tap water irrigation device has a potential cost saving of over $65 million per year, as these devices are not affected by saline shortages and therefore are more convenient and effective.
Dr. Sloan is a 1997 graduate of the IU School of Medicine and a 2000 graduate of the IU Emergency Medicine residency program. The former IU basketball player and member of the 1987 NCAA champion Hoosiers recently retired from a 20-year tenure in the school’s emergency medicine department, where he earned the moniker “mayor” of the night shift. His emergency medicine interests include musculoskeletal medicine, exertional heat stroke and sports medicine related topics.
The patent was filed by IU’s Innovation and Commercialization Office, which aims to drive innovation to the market for the benefit of the public, the university, and innovators for state, national and global commerce.
Bri Heron, technology marketing manager at Indiana University’s Innovation and Commercialization Office, contributed this story.
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