Burn injury patients are among the most vulnerable to nosocomial infection and require special treatments to avoid further complications. A burn can severely compromise or even destroy the body's environmental barrier through damage to the skin and, in severe cases, the underlying tissues. Each year in the United States alone two million people suffer burn injuries which result in 1,000,000 - 3,000,000 hospitalizations and 12,000 deaths. In successfully resuscitated patients, the most serious threat to survival is infection, with burn-wound sepsis being one of the leading causes of death. Modern antibacterial agents may sometimes damage or irritate tissues, delay epidermal growth, and promote burn wound extension. The negative aspects of their action outweighs the positive effects after their application. In this SBIR Phase I we propose to develop a novel burn wound disinfection unit that will based on electrochemically generated ozone gas. During the Phase I we intend to develop a procedure allow a known amount of gaseous ozone to be delivered to a specified area of the body while, at the same time preventing the gas into the surrounding environment. It is envisaged that the development of the system will lead to a commercial product that fulfills the needs of this niche market, prevents or reduces burn wound sepsis and, thus saves lives.
Ozone technology is beginning to emerge as the preferred alternative to chlorine and chlorine based disinfectants, a market worth billions of dollars annually. Lynntech has developed and patented an ozone generator that has several advantages over conventional ozone generators.
