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New
Micropore Surgical Tape, with its special non-irritating adhesive
and very porous backing, was truly unique. Hospitals and clinics
loved it. It did not strip away skin like those other products when
it was removed, and it allowed the skin to "breathe in a normal
way."
The
Reader's Digest article called it a "wholly new kind of
surgical tape that sticks tenaciously, yet can be peeled from tender
skin as painlessly and easily as pulling off a glove." It is
believed to be the first hypoallergenic tape on the market. It will
not harm or tear skin, cause skin rashes or blisters.
Behind it
was four years of work by a young mathematician named Frank
Copeland. Copeland, now retired from 3M, filed the patent for the
surgical tape in 1960 when he was just 28 years old. He solved the
complex problem of how to apply just enough adhesive to the tape in
a way that lets oxygen in and moisture vapor out. That's called
"breathability" in the tape business.
Copeland
tinkered with dozens of backings produced by 3M's then new non-woven
materials technology laboratory. He discarded those that were too
stiff, too heavy or not strong enough. He tested multiple fibres,
including nylon and polyester, before settling on a non-woven rayon
fibre web. But the biggest, seemingly impossible hurdle was how to
apply the adhesive so that it did not block the microscopically
small air holes between each rayon fibre.
"At
one point, we thought that using a spray painter to distribute the
adhesive on the backside would do the trick," Copeland said in
an interview from his St. Paul home. But that and many other trial
techniques failed to achieve the desired microporousity for
breathability that was essential for the tape to be gentle on the
skin. Finally in 1959, he hit upon the ultimate solution. Today, the
process for coating the adhesive onto the thin, paper-like backing
remains a 3M manufacturing strength.
To test the
usefulness of this new product, Copeland, his wife and others at 3M
wore the new microporous tape for days on end. "We wanted to
see how well it stuck and how long it would stay in place through
baths, showers and swimming. It worked very well," he reported.
And when removed, it came off easily, leaving no adhesive residue or
mark on the skin.
Micropore
Surgical Tape was put through its first clinical testing by Dr.
Theodore Golden, specialist in gastro-intestinal surgery at St.
Vincent's Hospital in New York City. Dr. Golden is said to have
tested the tape by wearing strips of it on his own leg. He
distributed boxes of the tape to associates at other New York
hospitals who were also impressed by the tape's gentleness to skin.
In the November 1960 issue of the American Journal of Surgery,
Dr Golden reported that the new tape was the first to be
"completely compatible with patient comfort".
At the
time, there were reports of dramatic cases where the tape alone was
used to hold large abdominal incisions together when the skin was
too fragile to accommodate sutures. It was reported that one
patient's abdominal wall was literally rebuilt with the tape and his
life saved when sutures on the patient's compromised skin failed to
hold the wound closed.
These
reports prompted 3M to cut Micropore Surgical Tape into one-eighth
inch, one-fourth inch and one-half inch strips, sterilise and
package it as primary surface closures for incisions. Thus, the
first hypoallergenic alternative to painful stitches, 3M™ Steri-Strip™
Adhesive Skin Closures, were introduced in 1962. Later, reinforcing
filament strips were added and the adhesive made stickier for
stronger adhesion, resulting in today's successful line of Steri-Strip
Skin Closures.
The three
Musketeers credited with making and keeping Micropore Surgical Tape
on top as the world leader in paper tapes are Copeland, the
inventor, Jerry Gierok and Bill Hansen. Gierok joined the 3M
laboratory team in 1966, working on raw materials and overall
quality standards to give the tape its competitive edge. Working on
Micropore Surgical Tape as the product service engineer until his
retirement in 1991, Gierok contributed greatly to the consistency of
the product. Hansen, a chemist and currently a lead senior
specialist in 3M's Skin Health Division, joined the group in 1969
and continues development work on several tape products. Hansen was
responsible for two major advances in process and adhesives, which
have helped maintain Micropore Surgical Tape's competitive
advantage.
Continuing
product support has involved many groups and individuals over the
years. Micropore Surgical Tape is an excellent demonstration of the
importance of 3M’s ability to draw on a broad range of corporate
resources as needed. It truly takes a corporate family to sustain a
product. 3M consisted of seven divisions during the time of Copeland’s
invention. Components and processes from five of these divisions
were used in the development of Micropore tape. Key contributions
were made to Copeland’s developmental process by Paul Hansen with
backing and Francis Brown with adhesive. This spirit of free
exchange of support and information across divisional lines remains
one of the true strengths of the 3M technical community.
Only a few
minor modifications to Micropore Surgical Tape have been made over
the years. As Hansen said, "It's pretty hard to beat the
original!"
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