High-Tech Textile Performance Confirmed, Data Presented at ICAAC

Vestagen Technical Textiles announces its inaugural participation in the 50th annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) this week, hosted by The American Society for Microbiology. Vestagen will exhibit its fluid repellant Vestex performance medical apparel at the conference, which will also be the subject of a poster session with Dr. Ruta Dubinskaite.

Vestex uses exclusively licensed and patented technology to repel blood and bodily fluids, wick away perspiration and contains an antimicrobial to control odors. The innovative, nanotechnology-based uniforms keep healthcare workers clean, cool and dry.

Earlier this year, a research team led by Dr. Ruta Dubinskaite, Margaret Cotton, Dr. Christopher Gibson, Dr. Thomas Walsh, Dr. Shmuel Shoham and Dr. Matthew Hardwick tested Vestex in emergency rooms and critical care departments where splashes and splatters of bodily fluids are daily occurrences. To evaluate the impact of Vestex fabric treatment on healthcare worker clothing, doctors tested shirts with one half control fabric and one half Vestex fabric.

Twenty-nine shirts were autoclaved and given to health care workers in the emergency and critical care departments at Washington Hospital Center.  Workers wore the scrub shirts for one eight- to 12-hour shift. Shirt microbial contamination was assessed at baseline and at the end of the shift by swabbing 12 distinct areas of the garments for culture. Total colony counts of cultures from each shirt compared the Vestex treated portion to the untreated portion. Overall, the Vestex-treated portion of the scrub shirts had fewer pathogens at the end of the shift than the control fabric.  Researchers concluded that there is, a strong trend suggesting that Vestex treated garments are more effective at reducing microbial burden than control fabric.

The results are encouraging and add to the clinical and laboratory evidence base for Vestex, says Ben Favret, president and CEO of Vestagen. 

Engineered as a first line of defense against blood and other bodily fluids, Vestex comes at a time when the nations healthcare industry is on high alert. Mounting data suggests that microbial contamination can occur via the physical transfer of microorganisms from textiles such as scrubs, lab coats and bed linens.

Its well documented in the medical literature that fluid barriers protect workers in a clinical setting, but most of them are hot and uncomfortable to wear, Favret adds.  Vestex is a breathable, comfortable solution, yet maintains the barrier protection workers need to stay safe.