Finite Element Analysis Modelling of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Drapes

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) drape removal from the skin may be painful for patients and inadvertently cause skin damage during the length of therapy. Most NPWT drapes utilize an acrylate adhesive to achieve the seal. To improve the experience associated with NPWT drape removal, a novel hybrid drape was developed. This drape is composed of areas of acrylate adhesive and areas of silicone adhesive. To more fully understand how the removal of the hybrid drape versus the acrylate drape affects the skin, drape removal models were developed to assess the differences in strain profiles for acrylate versus hybrid NPWT drapes using finite element analysis (FEA) to measure the strain and deformation that occurs at the tissue interface with the NPWT drape. The FEA modeling showed that the maximum principal strain associated with the removal of the acrylate drape was 47.3%, whereas the maximum principal strain associated with the removal of the hybrid drape was 21.5%. The average peel force associated with the acrylate drape was 66.1 gf/in, while the peel force for the hybrid drape was 112.5 gf/in. NPWT drape removal may, in certain instances, be related to pain and periwound skin injury. The hybrid drape tested may provide clinicians with an option for NPWT that is gentler for the skin.