Comparative Study of Acrylic Vs Silicone Eye Protection

Unlike other eye protection, our IPRO ELITE eye protectors are made from our unique patent-pending design of silicone which is incredibly kind to skin and non-porous, meaning it is resistant to bacterial build-up.

Silicone has been shown to be very gentle to the skin^1, with greater patient satisfaction when used as an alternative to standard adhesive tapes^2. Silicone has a lower surface tension and requires only a gentle force for removal^3, carrying significantly less risk of skin injury and result in a lower incidence of skin trauma^4.

Findings suggest that an older population (65 and over) are more susceptible to skin injuries caused by medical tape^5. With a growing elderly population and advancing surgical procedures growing in complexity & duration, minimising skin trauma on removal of eye care products is essential. Therefore, our silicone IPRO ELITE fills this performance-expectation gap, especially among patients with fragile or at risk skin^6.

Since little guidance currently exists on the appropriate selection and use of adhesive products to minimise medical adhesive related skin injuries, many other available adhesives have the disadvantage of skin trauma if they are incorrectly applied & removed^3.

This can be visually shown when compared with an acrylic adhesive. Peel release force testing was conducted on both materials and found that the average peel release force required for the silicone IPRO ELITE was 92% lower than an acrylic adhesive.

The iPRO ELITE is designed to be flexible & conform easily to the delicate eye orbital. Suitable for even the most sensitive skin types, the IPRO ELITE is perfect for a gentle, yet reliable approach to eye protection during surgery. Despite being ultra-soft to the touch, silicone is impressively long-lasting and water-resistant.

In fact, from our findings during clinical use, 97% of users gave an overall impression of very good to excellent:

We have designed the iPRO ELITE with a coloured tab to aid in the placement and removal of the device. This allows the user to line up the device with the eye area before placement and after use; the tab encourages the user to peel the device from the eye, rather than pulling, minimising potential skin damage.

The IPRO ELITE has also undergone various biocompatibility studies which meet the strict requirements of ISO 10993.