In the EU over 25 million clinical operations are performed every year, at an increasing rhythm. Some of them are accompanied by hospital infections, leading to around 50,000 additional fatalities a year in Europe. Some 25% of all post-operative infections are due to wound infections in operational theatres. A frequent cause of infection is contaminated particles, contact-communicated or air-borne, between surgeon team and patient and/or across the patient's surface. Textiles for use in operating theatres -like surgical gowns and drapes - have to perform the task of protection both of the medical staff and of the patient. In the market there are still cotton products that will not meet the hygienic safety standards soon to be published. On the other hand the disposables now often used have increasing economic and environmental costs. It is therefore expected there will be a push for the application of new generation re-usable medical textiles in Europe.
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