Researchers have developed an affordable bandage that uses an electrical field to speed up wound healing. The bandage has already been tested on animals and healed wounds 30% faster. This could make life better for millions of people — and also save a lot of money in hospitalization costs.

Chronic wounds are a bigger problem than you think. Chronic wounds, such as diabetic ulcers, venous leg ulcers, and pressure sores, affect approximately 2% of the U.S. population. They are not only painful and difficult to deal with but can lead to complications and amputations — or worse. Chronic wound treatment costs over $28 billion annually in the US alone.

We’ve known for some time that the right electrical field can get wounds healing faster. Specialized dressings for chronic wounds that use electrical fields do exist, but they’re typically expensive and often available only in a hospital setting.

“Our goal here was to develop a far less expensive technology that accelerates healing in patients with chronic wounds,” says Amay Bandodkar, co-corresponding author of the work and an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at North Carolina State University. “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.”

Smart bandages

Bandodkar and colleagues have developed a water-powered, electronics-free dressings (WPEDs) that electrically stimulate wounds, significantly enhancing the healing process.

The bandage consists of a biocompatible magnesium-silver/silver chloride battery and a pair of carbon-based stimulation electrodes. When water is added, the battery activates, creating a radial electric field that mimics the body’s natural electric field at the wound site. This field promotes cell migration, increases epidermal thickness and modulates inflammation — all crucial factors for rapid wound closure.

“That electric field is critical, because it’s well established that electric fields accelerate healing in chronic wounds,” says Rajaram Kaveti, co-first author of the study and a post-doctoral researcher at NC State.

You don’t need a lot of water for it to work. The dressings can be applied and activated with the simple touch of a moist fingertip. This user-friendly design ensures that patients can use it without the need for specialized equipment or training. Moreover, the dressings’ lightweight and flexible nature allows them to conform to various body parts, including curved surfaces like toes and heels.

“This ability to conform is critical, because we want the electric field to be directed from the periphery of the wound toward the wound’s center,” says Kaveti. “In order to focus the electric field effectively, you want electrodes to be in contact with the patient at both the periphery and center of the wound itself. And since these wounds can be asymmetrical and deep, you need to have electrodes that can conform to a wide variety of surface features.”

Putting it to the test

Because chronic wounds are a particularly big problem for diabetic patients, the bandage was tested on diabetic mice. The bandages sped up wound closure, reduced inflammation, and promoted the formation of new blood vessels. All of this encourages faster healing. It’s also cheap, the team says.

“But it is equally important that these bandages can be produced at relatively low cost — we’re talking about a couple of dollars per dressing in overhead costs,” says Bandodkar.

The potential applications of WPEDs extend beyond wound care. The technology could be adapted for use in other areas of tissue regeneration, such as nerve repair and bone healing. Additionally, further research may explore the use of WPEDs in preventing and treating wound infections, adding another layer of benefit to this already promising technology.

By combining affordability, ease of use, and effectiveness, these innovative dressings have the potential to transform the lives of millions of people suffering from chronic wounds. As further research and development continue, WPEDs may soon become a standard treatment option.

Journal Reference: Rajaram Kaveti et al, Water-powered, electronics-free dressings that electrically stimulate wounds for rapid wound closure, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ado7538. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ado7538