Smart Bandage?

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When I first heard about this development, I thought they were working on something similar to what Bob Langer, a fellow ChemE grad student from MIT, was working on years ago.   Normally, all bandaging does is to contain a wound, preventing infection from setting in.  That’s why Bob Langer developed his artificial skin to treat burn patients more effectively, because the “new skin” effectively replaced the burned skin and precluded infection in the patient.  This new device was being touted as a “smart bandage”.  But, that’s not really what Dr. H. Kong  (Chemical and Biomolecular engineering, University of Illinois-Urbana), along with Drs. Jeong,  Chan, Cha, Zorlutuna, Dyck, Hsia, and Bashir are developing.

This device, it turns out, is very different.  It’s not really a ‘bandage’.  As reported in Advanced Materials, this device enables the process of angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels.  By incorporating fibrolasts that exude growth factors (vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF) into a hydrogel (polyethylene glycol and methacrylic alginate), the researchers have composed a bandage about 1 cm across, using 3D printing.  They used the 3D printing to form the channels into which the blood vessels will form.

3D printing process for smart bandage

One of the considerations was the availability of VEGF through the hydrogel to insure a sustained level  for angiogenesis.  Smaller diameters worked better than larger ones; and incorporating VEGF (instead of the fibroblasts) into the hydrogel  and then “printing”  the material may denature the VEGF, rendering  it useless.  They also found that the optimum size of the microchannel (which is where the blood vessel forms) was governed by the thickness of the smart bandage (stamp), confirming the theoretical analyses they performed.  The device has also been tested by applying the bandage to a chick embryos (an egg).  After 7 days, they found that their microchannel device grew the desired blood vessels, in a variety of geometries.

It is hoped they can use bandages such as these to develop new circulation patterns- bypassing a blocked artery or to enable the delivery of drugs to a specific site in the body. It may also help reduce scar tissue and enhance recovery after surgery.

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12 thoughts on “Smart Bandage?”

  1. Ahhhhh the future of medicine! I’ve said it 1000 times over you find the coolest information ever! (I want to make a joke about how this will change the face of plastic surgery…ok I just did…) On a serious note, this kind of info does change a lot in the medicine game…surgeries without scars, and quicker healing times, injuries the same…amazing stuff really. Let’s see band-aid top this one 😉
    Lisa Brandel recently posted..Mandala Of Hope Phase 1 by Lisa Brandel

  2. So Roy, do you think we will ever get to the point of regrowing arms and legs and other diseased organs? And is it good that we can prolong life by all these lovely means? One side of me jumps up and down every time I read about this kind of advancement but I wonder – the ethics and morals and the selection – rich live long because they can afford to pay for good health. innovation etc…
    Roberta Budvietas, recently posted..How to get a Construction Management Agreement

    1. Roberta:
      I don’t think we will “regrow” arms or legs. I think we may produce functional (and mannequin look-alikes) devices that can be used to assist those in need. An arm or a leg involves mutliple organ systems that would require multiple “regrowths” that may not all progress at the same rate, making that concept more difficult.

      Roy

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