Patent ID: 8882746

Claim:
An apparatus for treating a wound, comprising: a wound dressing comprising: a backing layer having a proximal, wound-facing face and a distal face, the backing layer having adhesive on the wound-facing face; a membrane layer comprising a plurality of apertures positioned beneath the backing layer when the wound dressing is in an upright orientation; and a foam layer between the backing layer and the membrane layer; wherein the backing layer, membrane layer, and foam are permanently interconnected and configured to be a single integral unit prior to being applied over a wound; a biodegradable scaffold to promote tissue growth into the scaffold, the biodegradable scaffold configured to be placed between the membrane layer and the wound; at least one inlet pipe passing through and/or under the backing layer and directly or indirectly communicating with at least a fluid reservoir, and at least one outlet pipe passing through and/or under the backing layer, wherein a relatively fluid-tight seal or closure is formed over the wound at the point at which each inlet pipe and each outlet pipe passes through and/or under the backing layer; a fluid cleanser in direct or indirect communication at least with the outlet pipe configured to retain in the cleansed fluid nutrients, molecules, factors, and/or other components from the wound exudate that aid in proliferation or that are favorable to the wound healing; a fluid recirculation tube for directing cleansed fluid from the fluid cleanser back into the inlet pipe so that nutrients, molecules, factors, and/or other components from the wound exudate that aid in proliferation or that are favorable to the wound healing process are returned to the wound; a device for moving fluid through at least the wound dressing and the fluid cleanser; and the apparatus being configured such that fluid can be supplied to fill the fluid flow path from the fluid reservoir and such that at least a portion of the fluid flowing through the outlet pipe can be recirculated via the fluid recirculation tube through the fluid flow path.