Authors

  1. Castillo, Jeff MBA
  2. Executive Vice President for Medela Americas

Article Content

Medela exists to make life easier and improve outcomes for healthcare professionals and patients through innovative medical vacuum technology. As a global manufacturer of medical vacuum solutions that are trusted by clinicians worldwide and the healthcare choice for more than six million hospitals and homes across the globe, we turn science into care while nurturing health for generations.

 

For more than 60 years, Medela has been dedicated to making the most delicate forms of care simple, intuitive, and effective. In fact, caring has always guided everything we do-as a family company, you could even say it's in our DNA. We've been caring for moms, babies, patients, and healthcare professionals for so long, we've turned it into a science: the Science of Care.

 

At Medela, caring is natural. It is life-giving and life changing. That's why our products are designed to go beyond form and function. They heal, nurture health, build bonds, and support better outcomes through equal parts physics, compassion, engineering, and humanity.

 

Today, Medela is the leader in hospital grade (multi-user) breast pumps, with our innovation used in hospitals and maternity units and by lactation consultants and human milk experts worldwide. In fact, our Symphony Breast Pump is considered the criterion standard for breast pumps and breast milk initiation protocols.

 

We applied this research-based suction technology to our negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) portfolio of products (Figure 1). Our NPWT solutions provide an optimal environment for confident and effective wound healing. Used in combination with our dressings, our NPWT pumps effectively remove wound exudate and maintain consistent, even pressure across the wound site to promote healing. Backed by more than 6 decades of expertise in medical vacuum technology, our NPWT solutions integrate:

  
Figure 1 - Click to enlarge in new windowFigure 1.

* Intelligent Pressure Control, which ensures consistent and even pressure is delivered directly to the wound site to promote the body's natural wound healing and tissue regeneration process

 

* Dynamic Exudate Removal technology featuring double-lumen tubing to prevent blockages, efficiently remove exudate, and dynamically adapt to fluid fluctuations to pull fluid away from the wound and into the canister while allowing the body to continue its natural wound healing and tissue regeneration process.

 

 

Our NPWT innovation is further informed by feedback from customers and healthcare professionals who regularly use these products (Figure 2). Thanks to their insights, the Medela portfolio includes:

  
Figure 2 - Click to enlarge in new windowFigure 2.

* Whisper-quiet suction technology, minimizing disturbances during therapy

 

* Compact and lightweight design that maximizes patient comfort and mobility

 

* Award-winning support from our in-house customer excellence team

 

* Straightforward pricing structure for increased accessibility and better transparency through predictable month-to-month spend that reduces administrative burdens and lowers cost without impacting patient care

 

 

The newest addition to the Medela NPWT portfolio is the Invia Integrated Dressing. This "peel-and-stick" sterile dressing is indicated for shallow wounds and closed surgical incisions for up to 7 days. Wounds greater than 0.5 cm in depth will likely require a wound filler to ensure adequate treatment of all wound surfaces. When used with a wound filler, the dressing is indicated for up to 3 days. Medela's integrated dressing features a 4-cm silicone adhesive border surrounding a three-layer fluid handling pad and the same Quick-Connect double lumen tubing used across all Medela NPWT products to simplify dressing-to-pump connection. In conjunction with the Medela NPWT pumps, the integrated dressing maintains even pressure across the wound and channels fluid off to keep it away from the wound. Equipped with an absorbent layer and a one-way valve layer, the dressing prevents fluid from laying on the wound should the pump be turned off.

 

The Medela Integrated Dressing and Motion 15 pump is a solution for closed surgical incision management. With a 15-day run time on the Motion personal pump, therapy is started in the OR and the same Motion pump can be used throughout the course of therapy. Because Motion is a personal pump, the pump is disposed of at the end of therapy, eliminating the risk of capital equipment loss.

 

To help you get started, Medela provides on-site clinical in-servicing and training, instructional videos to ensure staff comfort and confidence, and product tutorials supported by clinical education experts. Medela pumps are equipped with a QR code that directs to patient and clinician resources for simplified troubleshooting.

 

For on-going education and support, clinician and patient support videos are accessible on the Medela NPWT app available for complimentary download on the Apple App Store and Google Play. Further to our commitment to education, Medela offers complimentary professional continuing education courses on NPWT through our online educational platform, Medela University (contact hours provided by the California Board of Registered Nursing: Provider #13692). Courses including the NPWT Mechanisms of Action, Biofilms and Chronic Wounds, and the Physics Behind the Therapy provide the fundamentals for any clinician looking to refresh or strengthen their NPWT knowledge.

 

Learn more about Medela NPWT systems as a solution for your facility at http://medelahealthcare.com.