Researchers have developed an inexpensive bandage that uses an electric field to promote healing in chronic wounds. In animal testing, wounds that were treated with these electric bandages healed 30% faster than wounds treated with conventional bandages.
Chronic wounds are open wounds that heal slowly, if they heal at all. For example, sores that occur in some patients with diabetes are chronic wounds. These wounds are particularly problematic because they often recur after treatment and significantly increase the risk of amputation and death.
"This project is part of a bigger DARPA project to accelerate wound healing with personalized wound dressings," says Sam Sia, co-corresponding author of the work and professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia University."This collaborative project shows that these lightweight bandages, which can provide electrical stimulation simply by adding water, healed wounds faster than the control, at a similar rate as bulkier and more expensive wound treatment.
The electrodes are designed in a way that allows them to bend with the bandage and conform to the surface of the chronic wounds, which are often deep and irregularly shaped. Specifically, the researchers found that mice who received treatment with WPEDs healed about 30% faster than mice who received conventional bandages.
In addition, the WPEDs can be applied quickly and easily. And once applied, patients can move around and take part in daily activities. This functionality means that patients can receive treatment at home and are more likely to comply with treatment. In other words, patients are less likely to skip treatment sessions or take shortcuts, since they aren't required to come to a clinic or remain immobile for hours.
This work was done with support from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under grant D20AC00004 and from the Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies at NC State, which is funded by National Science Foundation grant 1160483. Bandodkar and Kaveti are inventors on a patent application related to this work.Rajaram Kaveti, Margaret A. Jakus, Henry Chen, Bhavya Jain, Darragh G. Kennedy, Elizabeth A.
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