Hamilton Memorial Physician Awarded Patent

An Indiana University Innovation and Commercialization Office
announcement recently detailed a novel tap water wound irrigation device developed by Dr. Brian
Sloan, an associate professor emeritus of clinical emergency medicine at the Indiana University School
of Medicine and Hamilton Memorial Hospital Family Clinic physician. This device was recently awarded
U.S. Patent No. 11,654,229 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Every year, approximately 12 million traumatic open wounds are presented at U.S. emergency
departments, and it is critical to thoroughly clean these wounds in order to prevent infection.
Currently, saline irrigation devices are used to treat these wounds, but these devices are expensive and
don’t pose a significant statistical difference in reduction of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) in wounds compared to Sloan’s novel tap water irrigation device, according to the IU
Innovation and Commercialization Office announcement.
“The idea of a convenient, inexpensive and efficacious wound irrigation device that uses tap water
instead of sterile saline will revolutionize the wound care industry,” Dr. Sloan said. “This device has
been shown to effectively irrigate traumatic wounds with potable water, which decreases cost and
provides clinicians with a professional, easy to use and readily available product. Clinicians have long
understood the benefits of using tap water for wound irrigation, and now there is a device that can
deliver tap water to open traumatic wounds in the emergency department, at urgent care, in
developing countries and at home.”
Additionally, the tap water irrigation device has a potential cost saving of over $65 million per year, as
these devices are not affected by saline shortages and therefore are more convenient and effective.
“Innovation, like Dr. Sloan’s tap water irrigation device, is invaluable to rural and desolate healthcare
settings across the globe because they provide practical, cost-effective solutions in a time when
acquiring medical supplies is difficult and uncertain. Dr. Sloan understood these challenges from not
only his life’s work in emergency practice, but his deep connection to rural health. His tireless work
toward this solution is admirable and a valuable tool to clinicians far and wide,” said Victoria
Woodrow, Hamilton Memorial Chief Executive Officer.
Dr. Sloan is a graduate of McLeansboro High School and graduate of both the IU School of Medicine
and the IU Emergency Medicine residency program. The former McLeansboro High School 1984 Class A
IHSA basketball champion and member of the Indiana University 1987 NCAA champion Hoosiers
recently retired from a 20-year tenure in IU’s emergency medicine department and returned home to
Hamilton County, Illinois to practice at Hamilton Memorial Hospital and Family Clinics.
The patent was filed by IU’s Innovation and Commercialization Office, which aims to drive innovation
to the market for the benefit of the public, the university, and innovators for state, national and global
commerce.