In the medical field, surgical site infections (SSIs) have always been an important risk to patient safety. According to data, there are about 30 million surgical procedures worldwide each year where infections are caused by improper protection. Choosing surgical towel materials that are both protective and environmentally friendly has become a core issue in modern operating room management.
Although the traditional cotton surgical towel has good breathability, but after repeated use of more than 25 times the microbial barrier rate plummeted by 70%, and each square metre of shedding fibres can be up to 100,000. Tests at a tertiary hospital showed that in a clean operating room using cotton surgical towels, the concentration of 0.5 micron dust particles increased by 320% after surgery compared to before surgery. Although disposable SMS nonwoven fabrics can reduce dust particles by 95%, they are easy to break and produce a large amount of medical waste.
The emergence of a new wood-pulp polyester spunlace nonwoven is redefining the standard of surgical protection. Through the ‘two-step hydroentanglement process’, the material perfectly combines 55% wood pulp and 45% polyester fibres, achieving the double breakthrough of breathability and impermeability to bacteria. According to the European EN13795 certification, the microbial penetration rate is only 0.03%, which is far lower than the industry standard of 0.5%. At the same time, the material is 68% biodegradable, reducing carbon emissions by 40% compared to traditional non-woven fabrics.
As a leading brand in the industry, Soonercleaning has developed a medical-grade hydroentangled nonwoven that maintains EN13795 certification while innovatively adopting a ‘honeycomb water-locking structure’ that increases water absorption by 50% and effectively prevents intra-operative fluid penetration. Clinical tests show that its puncture resistance reaches 8.5N, 30% higher than traditional materials, making it particularly suitable for complex surgical scenarios such as laparoscopy.
According to the latest AORN (American Association of Registered Nurses in the Operating Room) guidelines, the ideal surgical towel should have three core properties: permanent antimicrobial properties, liquid barrier rate of ≥98%, and recyclability of ≥60%. Experts recommend that healthcare organisations give priority to protective materials that have passed the ASTM F1670/1671 standard, while paying attention to the environmental friendliness of the product throughout its life cycle.