Functional design and construction of reusable surgical gowns considering microbial barrier

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to propose a functional design of surgical gowns regarding previously investigated properties of textile materials. The following materials were used for the surgical gowns: 100% Tencel, 50% PES/50% cotton and PES/PU/PES three-layered textile laminate. The materials showed satisfactory properties throughout 50 washing cycles and 50 sterilization cycles under realistic conditions at KBC Zagreb (University Hospital Centre Zagreb). Construction and modelling were carried out based on necessary requirements in the operating room. Functional design is proposed based on microbial barriers permeability and air permeability results.