Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Dermatology / 04.04.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amit Gefen PhD Professor of Biomedical Engineering The Herbert J. Berman Chair in Vascular Bioengineering Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Although we are witnessing continuous progress in medical technologies, the design of many of the most commonly used medical devices e.g. oxygen masks or cervical collars has changed very little over a period of decades. Not surprisingly, these devices are also the ones which are frequently associated with device-related pressure ulcers (DRPUs). These DRPUs are frequently a hospital-acquired injury which involves risk of infections (including e.g. sepsis and antibiotic-resistant bacteria), scarring with serious psychological consequences, additional and significant healthcare costs and a basis for liability suits and litigation. The problem is massive in Europe and the US and is most frequently encountered in clinical environments where devices are used intensively, such as in operation theatres, intensive care units and emergency care settings (in both adult and pediatric medicine), but also, in elderly care facilities where patients often have fragile skin. With the current pandemic spread of the coronavirus, facilities worldwide are experiencing a considerable rise in usage of emergency and intensive care equipment, which will very likely considerably escalate the incidence of DRPUs. Early in 2019, a committee of global experts which I have chaired, has met for two days of intensive deliberation in London UK, to start developing the first-ever international consensus document on device-related pressure ulcers . After a rigorous review process by an international review committee of other experts, this consensus report has been published as a Special Edition of the Journal of Wound Care in February 2019 (https://doi.org/10.12968/jowc.2020.29.Sup2a.S1), under the name "Device-related pressure ulcers: SECURE prevention". The publisher has kindly made this publication freely downloadable and thereby accessible and available to anyone, including all professionals who may need guidance in this regard, including clinicians, industry, regulators and academic researches. (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections / 24.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: David Houston PhD Senior Scientist and wound project Neem Biotech MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Biofilms are complex bacterial communities formed during the natural infection process as a protection mechanism and controlled by bacterial quorum sensing. These biofilm communities allow infections to spread by producing toxins that inhibit the body’s immune system, generating exopolysaccharide and changes in metabolic state that reduce the efficacy of antibiotics and activating virulence factors, which ultimately drive the spread of infection. Stopping the spread of infection by inhibition of quorum sensing has potential to manage a wide range of infections, including in wounds. In chronically-infected wounds, the prevention of biofilm formation, disruption of mature biofilms, reduction of virulence factors and thereby the spread of infection remains clinically elusive. Quorum sensing (QS) pathways regulate microbial motility, virulence factor production and the formation and maturation of biofilms. Inhibiting QS therefore presents a potential mode of therapeutic intervention for infections. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology / 18.08.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Thomas Bold President and CEO RenovaCare Inc. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for the CellMist™ System? How are the stem cells harvested and processed? Response: Our flagship CellMist™ System makes use of a patient’s own stem cells, which are sprayed onto wounds using our novel SkinGun™ device. For patients suffering severe burns and other wounds, the prospect of a quick-healing, gentle spray containing their own stem cells will be a promising alternative to conventional skin graft surgery, which can be painful, prone to complications like infections, and slow-to-heal. Based on preliminary case studies, CellMist™ System patients can be treated within 90 minutes of arriving in an emergency room; a patient’s stem cells are isolated, processed, and sprayed on to the wound sites for rapid healing. The CellMist™ Solution is a liquid suspension containing a patient’s own regenerative skin stem cells. A small sample (as small as a square inch) of the patient’s skin is quickly processed to liberate the stem cells from surrounding tissue. The resulting product is referred to as the ‘CellMist™ Solution’. The CellMist™ Solution is placed in the SkinGun™ and gently sprayed onto the patient’s wound. (more…)