Non-healing wounds are a significant problem for health-care systems worldwide. In the industrialised world, almost 1-1.5% of the population will have a problem wound at any one time. Furthermore, wound management is expensive; in Europe, the average cost per episode is 6650 euros for leg ulcers and 10 000 euros for foot ulcers, and wound management accounts for 2-4% of health-care budgets. These figures are expected to rise along with an increased elderly and diabetic population.1-4.