Researchers have invented a bandage for chronic wounds that relies on electric stimulation. The bandage facilitates healing faster than conventional bandages, according to an animal study published Wednesday in Science Advances. “We also wanted to make sure that the technology is easy enough for people to use at home, rather than something that patients can only receive in clinical settings,” he said.
Chronic wounds are tissue injuries that do not heal normally or in a timely manner and do not restore function and anatomy after three months. The bandages are disposable and become activated by water. They have electrodes on the side that are in contact with the wound and a battery on the outside.
The battery produces an electric field lasting several hours to accelerate healing. “We found that the electrical stimulation from the device sped up the rate of wound closure, promoted new blood vessel formation, and reduced inflammation, all of which point to overall improved wound healing,” said Maggie Jakus, a co-first author and graduate student at Columbia University. “Chronic wounds affect ~2% of the U.
S. population and increase risks of amputation and mortality,” the authors wrote. “Unfortunately, treatments for such wounds are often expensive, complex, and only moderately effective.
” The bandage generates a voltage of around 1.5 volts and creates an electrical field “directed towards the wound center, consistent with the endogenous (body’s) electric field,.