Dressing with asymmetric absorbent core for negative pressure wound therapy

A system for treating a tissue site with reduced pressure, the system comprising:

• a manifold adapted to be placed adjacent the tissue site;
• a sealing member adapted to be placed over the tissue site and the manifold to provide a substantially air-tight seal at the tissue site;
• a reduced-pressure source adapted to be fluidly coupled to the manifold through the sealing member;
• and
• a pouch adapted to be positioned between the manifold and the sealing member, the pouch comprising:
• an upstream layer having a hydrophilic side and a hydrophobic side,
• a downstream layer having a hydrophilic side and a hydrophobic side, and
• an absorbent member enclosed between the upstream layer and the downstream layer, the hydrophilic side of the upstream layer positioned adjacent the absorbent member and the hydrophobic side of the downstream layer positioned adjacent the absorbent member.

An apparatus for collecting fluid from a tissue site, the apparatus comprising:

• an upstream layer having a hydrophilic side and a hydrophobic side;
• a downstream layer having a hydrophilic side and a hydrophobic side;
• and
• an absorbent member enclosed between the upstream layer and the downstream layer, the hydrophilic side of the upstream layer positioned adjacent the absorbent member so that the hydrophobic side of the upstream layer forms a portion of an exterior of the apparatus, and the hydrophobic side of the downstream layer positioned adjacent the absorbent member so that the hydrophilic side of the downstream layer forms another portion of the exterior of the apparatus.

A system for treating a tissue site with reduced pressure, the system comprising:

• a manifold adapted to be placed adjacent the tissue site;
• a sealing member adapted to be placed over the tissue site and the manifold to provide a substantially air-tight seal at the tissue site;
• a reduced-pressure source adapted to be fluidly coupled to the manifold through the sealing member;
• and
• a pouch adapted to be positioned between the manifold and the sealing member, the pouch having an upstream layer having a first thickness, a downstream layer having a second thickness, and an absorbent member enclosed between the upstream layer and the downstream layer, wherein the second thickness is greater than the first thickness.

A method for treating a tissue site, the method comprising:

• positioning a manifold adjacent the tissue site;
• providing a pouch comprising:
• an upstream layer having a hydrophilic side and a hydrophobic side,
• a downstream layer having a hydrophilic side and a hydrophobic side, and
• an absorbent member enclosed between the upstream layer and the downstream layer, the hydrophilic side of the upstream layer positioned adjacent the absorbent member so that the hydrophobic side of the upstream layer forms a portion of an exterior of the apparatus, and the hydrophobic side of the downstream layer positioned adjacent the absorbent member so that the hydrophilic side of the downstream layer forms another portion of the exterior of the apparatus;
• positioning the pouch adjacent the manifold and the tissue site so that the upstream layer is adjacent the manifold;
• positioning a sealing member over the manifold and the pouch to provide a substantially air-tight seal;
• fluidly coupling a reduced-pressure source to the manifold to provide reduced pressure to the tissue site;
• distributing reduced pressure to the manifold through the pouch;
• and
• distributing fluid from the tissue site to an absorbent member in the pouch for storage therein.

A method for manufacturing a fluid storage canister, the method comprising:

• providing a first layer having a first thickness, a hydrophilic side, and a hydrophobic side;
• positioning an absorbent member adjacent the hydrophilic side of the first layer;
• providing a second layer have a second thickness greater than the first thickness, a hydrophilic side and a hydrophobic side;
• positioning the hydrophobic side of the second layer adjacent the absorbent member;
• and
• coupling peripheral portions of the first layer and the second layer to enclose the absorbent member.