American and Korean scientists have developed a new type of dressing that accelerates the healing of chronic wounds using electric current. This is stated in a study in the journal Science Advances.
The peculiarity of this bandage is that it is activated by simply adding water, does not require electronics or batteries and can be used at home.
Thanks to a light electric current passing through the damaged tissue, the healing process is accelerated, as the current stimulates skin cells to migrate more quickly into the wound area, and also reduces the risk of infection by killing bacteria.
Similar pads have been created before. joints, but they had significant drawbacks. Some of them had bulky batteries, which made them difficult to wear, while others required the patient to be constantly near a power source, which limited his mobility.
The new dressing, called WPED (Water-Powered Electronics-free Dressing), eliminates these shortcomings. It consists of an ordinary adhesive bandage with two electrodes on the back and a thin flexible battery on top. The battery is activated when its cells are wetted with water, which triggers an electric field that is transmitted to the damaged tissue through the electrodes.
In laboratory studies on mice, this new dressing has been shown to accelerate the healing of diabetic ulcers by 30% , comparing with ordinary bandages. The price of one such tool is about $1, which will facilitate widespread distribution.