UPM-Biofore-Magazine-2-2019

TEXT Vesa Puoskari   PHOTOGRAPHY Janne Lehtinen; UPM

WHAT’S THE SPECIES?

Natural wound care

New wound care dressing made from a sustainable, wood-based raw material can speed-up healing and brings new convenience to patient care.

F ibDex® is a new wound care product created by UPM in collaboration with researchers from the University of Helsinki and surgeons and nursing staff from the Helsinki Burn Centre. FibDex is the third biomedical product based on renewable and responsible wood-based rawmaterials to be commercialised by UPM. Dr Jane Spencer-Fry , Director of Biomedicals at UPM, says that medical professionals have responded positively to this innovation made from natural raw materials. “Surgeons and nurses are really interested in this new product, which is more comfortable for patients and can speed up their recovery. Clinical trials showed the wound care dressing provides significant benefits for the treatment of skin graft donor sites.” A biomedical innovation The innovation was conceived when Marjo Yliperttula , Professor of Biopharmaceutics at the University of Helsinki, developed an interest in nanofibrillar cellulose. Biomedical soon became the focus of her medical research. “During the initial studies, nanofibrillar cellulose proved to be a material that is extremely compatible with human tissues,” explains Yliperttula.

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