%X Pantegrals – washable pant with built-in pad – are popular among lightly incontinent women for
their good aesthetics and low per-use cost but their poor leakage performance relative to disposable
products stops many women from using them [1, 2, 3]. This project aimed to develop a new pantegral
with improved leakage performance – specifically, to match the reference menstrual pad in an
earlier study [3] – while retaining the good aesthetics and low cost of existing pantegrals. The project
involved collaborating with two other universities and five companies.
Published clinical and laboratory data characterizing existing products were analysed to produce a
design specification for an improved product. Subsequent laboratory bench-marking with a selection
of existing products established the primary technical challenges as developing novel nonwoven fabrics
with increased volume at leakage and improved wicking properties to enhance the leakage performance
of the product. These challenges were addressed through systematically studying the impact of
fabric structure (anisotropy of fibre alignment, fabric density variation, fibre geometry, fibre finish and
use of composite structures) and fibre blend on fluid handling properties. There were four development
phases: the novel fabrics from each phase were characterised in the laboratory (using absorption
time, absorption capacity, retention at height, lateral spreading, vertical wicking, wicking anisotropy
and spreading on the curved rig test methods). The best fabrics from each phase were built into prototype
products for clinical evaluation to check that improvements seen in the laboratory translated
into real use. Analysis of data at the end of each phase informed the next.
The two main conclusions from the laboratory characterisation of the novel fabrics were that: (i)
the use of trilobal viscose fibres improved the wicking properties; and (ii) the combination of high
and low density areas (through fabric and in-plane) provided the best from both high and low density
fabrics; that is, promoting wicking (high capillary pressure) helping in the redistribution of fluid and
greater void volume contributing to a higher absorption capacity.
The clinical leakage performance of the final prototype product was substantially better than that
of the reference pantegral and close to matching the target performance of the reference menstrual
pad. The aesthetics and projected per-use cost of the new product matched those of the existing pantegral.
Two patent applications have been filed and two of the commercial partners are now working
on commercializing the product.
%A R. Santamarta Vilela
%D 2012
%T Development of a washable, nonwoven-based absorbent product from incontinent women
%O Permission for digitisation not received
%I UCL (University College London)
%L discovery1338991