Application of a comfort index for evaluating tactile and thermo-physiological comfort properties of surgical gowns

Abstract

The primary objective of this study is to develop a mathematical tool to calculate a global desirability index value (comfort index) for disposable surgical gowns which will enhance the market value for the product. The mathematical tool is based on the desirability function approach, by using its different modules such as maximization, minimization, and target as per the objectives chosen. Three different disposable nonwoven surgical gowns, such as Fabrics C (44.35 g/m², 0.32 mm thickness & 11 micron pore size), A (46.31 g/m², 0.29 mm thickness & 10 micron pore size) & S (44.71 g/m², 0.36 mm thickness & 8.9 micron pore size), intended for hospital application have been used. The developed model focuses on predicting tactile and thermophysiological comfort, by considering the importance of certain physical properties, leading to the comfort of the wearer. Results reveal that out of the three gowns, Fabric C gown fetches the best comfort index value of 0.5689 followed by the Fabric S and A gowns with the values of 0.3009 and 0.1969 respectively.