Paper Title
Optimizing Care for Patients Suffering from Decubitusulcers using a Textile-based Drug Delivery Apparel System

Abstract
A decubitus ulcer, which is also defined as a pressure ulcer or bedsore with localized wounds, is caused by pressure on skin that restricts the blood flows through it. This skin disease usually threatens patients with mobility decline or disorders. Therefore, a textile-based drug delivery apparel system is essential for offering efficient, convenient and transdermal therapeutic support to the patients. This study aims to develop a medical apparel system with repeatable drug delivery ability with the use of hollow fibers for optimizing healthcare for patients suffering from Decubitus. Hollow fibers, which comprise numerous structural merits for both textile and medical applications, have been selected as the principal elements for developing the system. The drug loading capacity was first investigated via physical microscopic characterization. The drug releasing kinetics was examined with different length of fibers and viscosity of the loading agents. The drug delivery function was further examined with the use of drug-loaded fabrics (i.e. hollow fibers – based fabrics) via biological analysis. Effective loading of drugs in either aqueous or solid phases into the lumens of hollow fibers was shown. Significant inhibition of bacterial growth and suppression of abnormal cell proliferation were resulted by applying the drug-loaded hollow fibers - based fabrics.