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The first-of-its-kind bandage has been developed to accelerate healing, according to a report published by Science Advances.

Billed as E- Bandage, the credit for this development owes to Northwestern University researchers. They have developed this “small, flexible, stretchable bandage that accelerates healing by delivering electrotherapy directly to the wound site.”

In an animal study, the new bandage healed diabetic ulcers 30% faster than in mice without the bandage, researchers claimed.

A report published by eurekalert.org states that the “bandage also actively monitors the healing process and then harmlessly dissolves — electrodes and all — into the body after it is no longer needed. The new device could provide a powerful tool for patients with diabetes, whose ulcers can lead to various complications, including amputated limbs or even death.”

The research was published online in the Feb. 22 issue of the journal Science Advances. It marks the first bioresorbable bandage capable of delivering electrotherapy and the first example of a smart regenerative system.

“When a person develops a wound, the goal is always to close that wound as quickly as possible,” said Northwestern who co-led the study is quoted as having said in a report published by eurekalert.org.

 

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