A Durban company has scooped the silver trophy in the Medical Design Excellence Awards, in New York, for a wound-care device. Wondermed's Wound Hub II - developed to reduce pain, prevent contamination and save money during treatment of a wound - won in the emergency care category and was the only non-US product recognised at the awards.The company has previously won the South African TT100 award for research management and was a TT100 finalist for both innovation management and for systems.Wondermed's sales manager, Neville Farinha, said: "It's a new, innovative way of treating wounds such as burns, diabetic foot ulcers and trauma injuries. It treats all aspects of wound care in one unit and is a comprehensive approach to wound care, doing away with the messy and inefficient methods of the past."He said wounds are conventionally dressed, washed and treated daily, often causing hospital patients extreme pain."Our device is connected to an electricity source and to tap water. The water is sterilised. Then water infused with ozone is sprayed onto the bandage and it lifts the bandage away from the wound without hurting the patient. The same irrigation method is used to wash the wound. We then use sterile air to dry off the excess moisture."Next is the compressed-air massage function, which does not touch the wound but stimulates the areas around the wound to increase blood supply so that the wound can heal quicker. Then a cream is sprayed onto the wound and the wound is dressed."The device is already being used in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, India, Dubai and the US.Wondermed CEO Gilbert Bell said: "It's a huge honour to win such an award in competition with some of the top companies in the world, and it's a feather in the cap for all our local suppliers who have made this possible."The awards' jury includes medical professionals, industrial designers, engineers and manufacturers...