The spread of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) is also driving the growth of medical nonwovens. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in 25 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection on a given day. In fact, HAI significantly delays recovery, increases hospital costs, and in some cases, can lead to death, and costs healthcare providers billions of dollars a year.

Due to the increase in high-risk surgeries in the medical field and technological advances, the global surgical gowns market is growing at a considerable rate. Jason Beard, head of the Ahlstrom-Munksjö high-performance medical platform, said the use of nonwovens is expected to continue to increase to help control infections and protect patients and healthcare workers.

"In emerging markets, doctors who have been trained abroad and learned about the advantages of one-time solutions are also contributing to this trend. When they return to their home countries, they are more willing to adopt these solutions that they may not have used before." He said.

Jacob Holm said there was increasing pressure to reduce and eventually eliminate hospital infections, but the government had increased its investment. "Our healthcare-related innovation has also shifted to meet these needs." Jacob Holm Group CEO Martin Mikkelsen said.

Jacob Holm expects that from a regional perspective, the medical nonwovens market in South America and Latin America will see significant growth due to changes in regulations and low penetration of disposable materials. "We have seen an increase in demand for disposable items to replace reusable surgical gowns, burrows, masks and other materials in the operating room." Mikkelsen pointed out.

He added that globally, the advanced wound care market is also growing significantly due to the prevalence of surgical wounds and ulcers, the aging of the global population, and the increasing demand for research-supported wound care products.

In the medical market, Jacob Holm's Sontara spunlace materials do not use adhesives and are suitable for sensitive skin. Sontara are used in surgical gowns, burgers, patient gowns, wound dressings, tapes and bandages, as well as orthopedic materials, patches and towels.

"The strength of our nonwovens comes from our proprietary manufacturing process, which makes them resistant to abrasion," says Mikkelsen. "Our medical materials are resistant to shavings and are soft, breathable and drapable, providing comfort and peace of mind for patients and doctors over time."

Jacob Holm recently added 100 percent sustainable medical clothing fabrics to its portfolio. These products are made from 100 percent renewable fibers. "For Jacob Holm, sustainability is very important and we are working hard to provide environmentally friendly products for all market segments." Mikkelsen said.

Another new product from Jacob Holm is stretch fabric for wound care applications. Sontara nonwoven stretch product is breathable, soft and stretchable.

Finnish nonwovens producer Suominen is currently experiencing strong growth in Latin America and has recently invested in its plant in Paolínia, Brazil. "This investment enables our plant to produce medical nonwovens," said Marika Mäkilä, Suominen's medical product manager. "They can replace traditional textiles and at the same time have completely new applications."

In recent years, Suominen has launched a Fibrella range of products in the South American market, including Fibrella Wrap, a soft, skin-friendly material for wound care that can be padded to protect the bone and any areas that need cushioning in wound care applications. It is an elastic non-woven material that can conform to body curves, making patients feel more comfortable when wearing plaster.

Other unique products in the Fibrella product series include the Fibrella Zorb, which is specially designed for surgical hole towels, which can provide rapid absorption at the incision of surgical fenestration and reduce the time to clean up after surgery. At the same time, the Fibrella Perf product line has been developed specifically for wound care products that are soft, skin-friendly and absorbent.

Mäkilä said that compared with reusable products in the medical field, the benefits of disposable nonwoven medical products are very obvious. First and foremost, it is important to pay attention to the specific use of the material. The main purpose of nonwovens used in surgical gowns and hole towels is to establish a barrier between patients and medical personnel, prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses, and ensure their safety. In wound care applications, the liquid management function is critical, so the material must be absorbent, antibacterial and water resistant, and also soft.

Mäkilä explains: "Even though reusable materials have developed a lot, research still tends to use disposable surgical gowns and burgers because the latter have stronger, more reliable and repeatable bacterial impermeability. In the case of reusable surgical gowns, these properties may be weakened by wetting or repeated washing. In addition, disposable materials are easy to use and handle, which is also an economical solution."

Even the non-woven fabric itself, the functions and characteristics of medical non-woven fabrics will be different due to different technologies. "Our Fibrella Zorb material is used in the fenestration incision area of the hole towel due to its excellent properties, and its absorption capacity is twice that of the spunbond product. This can reduce the postoperative cleaning time. At the same time, it also has good drape and comfort, which is a great advantage compared with airlaid materials."

For decades, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has been producing high-performance medical materials that can be used in sterile barrier systems, burgers, surgical gowns and masks. Its product portfolio includes a range of single-use materials for operating rooms, clean rooms and sensitive environments. Its breathable virus protection barrier (BVB) material uses innovative three-layer lamination technology to provide breathable and impermeable protection to protect patients and medical personnel from viruses, bacteria and liquids.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö's new fabric PureArmor is a new generation of three-layer laminated non-woven fabric, which is not easy to lose chips and is suitable for environments sensitive to particle pollution. The company's proprietary manufacturing process bonds bicomponent spunbond fibers together, which makes the material difficult to fall off without sacrificing softness.

The barrier layer at the center of the three-layer laminated product is a membrane having a non-porous monolithic structure that provides an impermeable barrier to the passage of viruses, bacteria, liquids and particles. The structure of the film allows water vapor to pass through, thus maintaining comfort while providing the highest level of protection to the wearer.

"PureArmor made full use of the experience we gained in producing high-performance materials used in the operating room. We took the same technology and created a material that is very suitable for many applications outside the operating room." Beard said.
 
He explained that PureArmor can prevent particles from being discharged into the clean room. The particle filtration efficiency of most nonwovens used in clean rooms is between 94-98%, which means that in addition to potential blood-borne pathogens, thousands of particles may be released into the clean room environment. The PureArmor has a membrane design that makes it impervious to particles and potentially blood-borne pathogens.

"There are other film-based fabrics that also try to do this, but in most cases they are not breathable, so there are comfort issues." Beard said.

Pioneers in Wound Care

TWE Group's specialty in the medical market is liquid management. With extensive experience in hygienic absorbent products, TWE has developed a range of wound care and pad products in close collaboration with leading medical device companies.

According to Jelle Westerterp, Head of Group Health and Healthcare Business at TWE, one of their main product categories is the pressure dispersion layer and the exudate absorption layer used in negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) composites. In this case, the non-woven fabric of TWE helps to maintain a constant or even negative pressure and absorb exudates, prolonging the interval between changes of the medium and helping healing. "At the same time, NPWT composite structures can be made thinner and more flexible, making them easier to use while improving patient comfort." Westerterp added.

TWE has a wide range of products in the exudate management system (EMS) market, from adhesive plaster to sophisticated advanced wound dressings. The TWE nonwoven can be part of a composite structure that effectively draws exudate away from the wound. "Therefore, these laminated structures can reduce the frequency of dressings while promoting healing and improving patient comfort in a cost-effective manner." Westerterp explained.

TWE has two plants that manufacture orthopedic and plaster, splinting fillers, providing ready-made end products for medical device companies. Due to the different composition of viscose fiber and polyester fiber, the label and packaging of the filling material can be adjusted according to the specifications required by customers. "All they need to do is integrate the product into their product portfolio and supply it to caregivers and clinics." Westerterp said.

When it comes to the medical nonwovens market, TWE is optimistic. "NPWT and advanced EMS composites are growing at a rate of 3 to 8 percent. These more complex treatment options can help patients heal faster and reduce the overall cost of treatment," Westerterp noted. "Shorter treatment times can reduce costs and are less confusing when used."

Newly developed products from Freudenberg Performance Materials (Codberg High Performance Materials) include foam products directly coated with silicone adhesives. These products make foam dressings easier to use on the affected area while having excellent wound adhesion. This can be achieved by the adhesive properties of the silicone.

"This patent-pending innovation offers customers many advantages over traditional transfer coating technology," explains Dr. Frank Heislitz, CEO of Freudenberg Performance Materials. In addition, by reducing processing steps and complexity, energy is saved, waste is also avoided, and the supply chain is simplified."

The company last year began producing a laminate consisting of hydrophilic polyurethane foam and hydrophilic nonwovens that meets the ISO 13485 standard. Worldwide, Cordberg is one of the few suppliers of advanced wound care materials that produce polyurethane foams and hydrophilic nonwovens. According to the company, this innovative product combines two materials in the best ratio, and it can also be modified according to specific customer needs. "By combining foam and nonwoven materials, the absorbency and water retention of wound dressings can be significantly improved." Heislitz said.

Cordberg offers its customers MDI and TDI based foam. "This series marks another important milestone in the development of Cordberg's advanced wound care products." He added.
 
Another innovation of Cordberg is gel nonwovens. According to the company, for minor wounds or large post-operative wounds, the wound surface needs a moist environment to speed up the healing process and ensure that complications do not occur. To achieve this, the wound dressing must not only be able to absorb liquids such as exudates, but must also be stable when wet. "Gel fiber dressings can meet this challenge." Heislitz said.

The gelatinous fiber nonwoven material developed by Codberg High Performance Materials for advanced wound care accelerates the healing process. In order to achieve this effect, wound dressings combine hitherto seemingly incompatible properties. Superabsorbent fibers have excellent liquid retention and the material gels when contacted with exudates. The dressing maintains its excellent stability when wet and does not leak even when the dressing is compressed. The company says the new dressing can absorb up to 20 percent more liquid than other existing dressings.

Due to the high wet tensile strength, the dressing can also be removed in one go without tearing or disintegrating and without leaving any residue in the wound bed. This good mechanical properties are attributed to its basic material-needle punched staple fiber nonwoven, in which the fibers are locked and bonded to each other. The material is also coated with silver, which kills bacteria, thus making the dressing also antibacterial, thereby reducing the risk of infection.