New smart 'band-aid' heals wounds 30 PERCENT faster than traditional bandages trends now
A new electronic 'band-aid' claims to heal wounds 30 percent faster than traditional bandages by sending electrical signals directly to the injured site.
The innovation, developed by engineers from Northwestern University, consists of flexible, stretchable electrodes, an energy-harvesting coil to power the system and sensors that access the healing process.
When the wound is healed, the flower-shaped electrode dissolves into the body, bypassing the need to retrieve it.
In an animal study, even after 30 minutes, the new bandage healed diabetic ulcers 30 percent faster than in mice without the bandage.
A new smart 'band-aid' claims to heal wounds 30 percent faster than traditional bandages. It does so by sending electrical signals to the injury site
Injuries disrupt the body's normal electrical signals, but the new device restores it through electrical stimulation.
Northwestern's Guillermo Ameer, who co-led the study, said: 'Our body relies on electrical signals to function.
'We tried to restore or promote a more normal electrical environment across the wound.
'We observed that cells rapidly migrated into the wound and regenerated skin tissue in the area. The new skin tissue included new blood vessels, and inflammation was subdued.
One side of the bandage contains two electrodes.
The electrodes are made of the metal called molybdenum, which is widely used in electronic and semiconductor applications.
When this metal is thin enough, it can biodegrade, meaning it can disappear
