3M has unveiled its new medical adhesive that can stick to the skin for up to 28 days and is intended for use with an array of health monitors, sensors, and long-term medical wearables. Before 2022, the standard wear time for extended medical adhesives was up to 14 days. 3M now doubles that standard to help deliver a more patient-centric model of care.

Longer wear time for devices and monitors may help drive down costs, accumulate more data for better decision-making, and reduce patient disruption.

“Our 3M scientists created a technology and then pushed that tech to its boundaries without compromising skin health,” said Chad Reed, director of global business for 3M Medical Materials and Technologies. “Medical wearables are a cornerstone for the future of health care, and we’re committed to unlocking its potential with our world-class materials science.”

The new adhesive, 3M Medical Tape 4578, also adds the feature of liner-free stability, which can be stored for up to one year, giving device makers more flexibility in the design process. The non-woven fabric medical tape consists of a white spun-lace polyester non-woven backing, coated with a pressure sensitive acrylic adhesive that’s ideal for longer-wear applications.

Tape 4578 was designed for applications that require packaging the skin contact adhesive without a protective release liner and still retain the adhesion needed for several weeks wear time. May be used for health-care medical devices.

To learn more about 3M Medical Tape 4578, click here. Design engineers can also visit FindMyAdhesive.com for help selecting the right adhesive for their next medical device project. Created by 3M, Find My Adhesive is an online resource that uses a series of project-specific questions to identify a list of 3M medical adhesive suggestions.