Effectiveness of Wound Care Products in the Transmission of Acoustic Energy

Background and Purpose. Ultrasound is often recommended in the treatment of people with partial and full-thickness wounds. Many treatments are performed over a hydrogel sheet or semipermeable film dressing. The purpose of this in vitro study was to examine the effectiveness of 4 hydrogels (Nu-Gel, ClearSite, Aquasorb Border, and CarraDres) and 4 film dressings (CarraSmart Film, J&J Bioclusive, Tegaderm, and Opsite Flexigrid) in ultrasound transmission. Methods. The amount of sound energy transmitted through each product and interposed pig tissue was measured using an oscilloscope to display the intensity of sound energy delivered by the transducer. Five intensities at a frequency of 3.3 MHz were studied. Results. Results were expressed as the mean (±SD) percentage of voltage transmitted compared with a gel baseline. Nu-Gel was the most efficient hydrogel (77.2%±4.6%), followed by ClearSite (72.0%±2.2%), Aquasorb Border (45.3%±2.1%), and CarraDres (42.8%±5.9%). The 4 film dressings, in order of efficiency, were CarraSmart Film (60.5%±4.4%), J&J Bioclusive (53.2%±2.4%), Tegaderm (47.1%±2.3%), and Opsite Flexi-grid (31.5%±4.0%). Conclusion and Discussion. Transmissivity of wound care products used to deliver acoustic energy during ultrasound treatment of wounds varies greatly among dressing products. We believe that clinicians can use our findings as a part of the clinical reasoning process that they use to select an optimal wound dressing.