Kite blog
Expanding Foam For Medical Use – The Packaging Doctor
The Surgery Is Now Open
Dear Packaging Doctor,
I think I might just have your strangest query yet...I am the lead radiographer at a large cancer ward, and routinely administer radiotherapy to patients. One of the biggest complaints I get in my line of work is quite strangely about neck cramp and pain when patients lie down to receive treatment. Radiation therapy is given to patients lying completely flat, and, particularly for elderly patients, can cause aches and pains in the neck and shoulder area.
I have read about using expanding foam as a quick and easy way of tackling this problem – is this something that works? Could you tell me a little bit more about it?
Kind Regards,
Dr. Parsons
Dear Dr. Parsons,
From one Doctor to another! Quite extraordinary to hear your story, and after some research I found a number of articles on expanding foam - you are quite right it is ideal for this kind of application. What is brilliant about expanding foam is that it fits around every contour and therefore holds objects in place and well as providing cushioning protection.
Kite stocks expanding foam called Instapak – by far one of the leading names in the world of expanding foam. To activate the foam a chemical reaction needs to occur, head over to our video demonstration to see how to activate this. As the foam starts to grow simply ask your patients to lie back and let the foam shape the contours of the neck and head. These foam packs generate a large amount of heat, so to keep cool I would recommend placing in the freezer for 30 minutes before and after expanding and placing a thin towel over the bag to separate between the patient and the pack. I would also advise using a towel throughout the therapy process, as the outside wrapping is plastic and can be quite uncomfortable on skin.
Take Care, The Packaging Doctor
Note: All the packaging problems our doctor receives are real queries from customers or non-customers.
If you have a packaging problem that needs diagnosing
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or email packagingdoctor@kitepackaging.co.uk
