Background: Negative pressure wound therapy with instillation combines sub-atmospheric pressure with a topical irrigation solution. The antiseptic solution is delivered to the wound, soaked for a period of time, and negative pressure is applied to cleanse the wound. Cycles are then repeated. It has been reported as a novel effective adjunctive wound treatment for infected or contaminated wound with positive clinical outcomes. The commercial device has not been available in Thailand.

Objective: The present study is to evaluating safety and effectiveness of the system, instillation soaking and suction in wound therapy. In addition, previous the study also the information in clinical use.

Material and Method: An automatic device for controlling cycles of negative pressure wound therapy with instillation was designed and built. The Ramathibodi Instill-Soak-Suction system (RISS system) was created by using the device with basic hospital supplies. The system was tested with multiple artificial wound models to confirm safety and consistent function. Then it was applied to two patients who had positive aerobic culture traumatic wound. The data collected from the patients were reported.

Results: RISS system tested with the wound models could work properly throughout seven days of trial period without any mechanical failure. The good distribution of instillation solution was seen over the surface of artificial wound models. The clinical use in two patients with colonized traumatic wounds showed improvement of aerobic culture from wound beds and reduction in wound sizes with no complications caused by the device or system failure.

Conclusion: We invented a reliable automatic device and developed the RISS system that can provide negative pressure wound therapy with instillation as an adjunct local wound therapy. The preliminary use in two clinical cases showed improvement of aerobic culture results and reduction in wound surface area.

Keywords: Negative pressure wound therapy