At full blast - despite a disability
Karen Darke became paralyzed from her ribcage downward following a climbing tour in Scotland. But she still achieves unbelievable things both as a person and as an athlete. She won a silver medal on the handbike at the 2012 Paralympics. For Darke, riding a bike is both a sport and a reason to live. But her hobby is in danger because her skin is being damaged by the high stress occurring around the base of her spine.
When wounds don't heal
Karen Darke spent what felt like an eternity lying face down. But her wound wasn't healing. Other people suffer like Darke, too: approximately four million people in Germany are battling with chronic wounds. Many of these wounds are cared for using traditional bandages and dressings.*
Everything acting as one
After four weeks, Karen Darke changed to a different product for wound treatment. "When developing this product, B. Braun benefited from many years of collaboration with wound experts," reports Silvia Füllemann, Manager of Skin & Wounds at the Center of Excellence Infection Control. "It is a very special feeling when official approval documents arrive and you can hold the first finished specimen in your hand."
The market as a source of ideas
First and foremost, however, it is the many reports of positive experiences from wound experts and nurses that move Silvia Füllemann. B. Braun collects this feedback from the market at regular network team meetings. At the same time, the short decision pathways at B. Braun make it possible to respond quickly to market trends and develop Prontosan® further.
A product family for a wide variety of applications
Over the years, the original product idea has grown to an entire product family that takes the same approach. Starting from the wound irrigation solution, to gels for small surfaces and large wounds: Prontosan® now covers a wide spectrum in wound healing – and helps also Karen Darke in healing her skin, and supports her to pursue her hobby at full tilt.
* Reference: Graefe, I. (2009). Handlungsreisender in Sachen Wundmanagement. Healthcare Journal, S. 4-6
