ABSTRACT
Wound care is a long-standing and continuously evolving topic that at the very basic level, everyone is likely to have experienced at some point in their life. Under normal healthy conditions, minor wounds are able to heal themselves through four key stages of the healing process: haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and remodelling/maturation. More complex wounds need more intervention, and may also need longer for healing to be complete. Wound care has evolved from simply protecting and closing the wound. Advanced wound care now aims to heal wounds faster and better, and/or provide improved secondary outcomes, such as less pain, no scarring, increased patient mobility, prevention of infection and so on. This sector therefore comprises a broad range of solutions and has become a sizable market, which will in all likelihood continuing to increase. The growth is fuelled by many factors, including the ageing population, greater incidences of diabetes and obesity, overall increasing global wealth, accessibility of advanced wound care to developing countries, and technological and medical advances.
