RALEIGH, N.C. -- The traditional American hospital gown -- flimsy in front, open to the breeze in the back -- has been around about as long as the Band-Aid. If anything, it has changed less.

The one-size-fits-none garment remains one of the least loved aspects of American medicine. A bare-bottomed Jack Nicholson wore the most common model, open in back with a couple of ties, to comic effect in the 2003 movie "Something's Gotta Give."

Medical...