A Stanford University research team has created a smart bandage made of a thin, flexible printed circuit and a wireless power source that provides electrical stimulation to injured tissue.
The bandage also monitors the skin beneath it for signs of healing or infection, according to an NIH Research Matters brief published in December. NIH funded the work of Stanford surgeon Geoffrey Gurtner, MD, and chemical engineer Zhenan Bao, PhD, who described a study of their bandages in Nature Biotechnology.
The bandages are adhered using an adhesive gel that loosens when heated above body temperature. In mouse testing, it caused no irritation to healthy skin. Wounds in the mice healed about 25% more quickly when provided electrical stimulation, with the new skin showing an increase in new blood vessels and overall thickness.
“It is an active healing device that could transform the standard of care in the treatment of chronic wounds,” said post-doctoral study co-leader Yuanwen Jiang.
The researchers will next enlarge the bandage for use on larger animals before beginning human trials.
From the January/February 2023 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
