If you've ever nicked yourself with a kitchen knife while cutting up meat or vegetables, you probably already know that even minor wounds can take a pretty long time to heal fully; weeks, in some cases.
That's a problem – albeit a minor one – that US and Chinese researchers based in the University of Wisconsin have been tirelessly working to solve lately.
According to a University news post, the researchers in question have developed an entirely new type of bandage that could "dramatically speed up healing." Apparently, the bandage uses energy generated from a patient's body motions to apple "gentle electrical pulses" to an injury.
During rodent tests, researchers discovered that healing times could be reduced down to as few as three days, which is significantly shorter than the "normal healing process" that lasts around two weeks.
The low-power pulses emitted by this new bandage tech could boost "viability" for skin cells known as fibroblasts, encouraging them to band together and form new tissue.
Better yet, so far, there don't appear to be any adverse side effects - quite the opposite. The low-power pulses emitted by this new bandage tech could boost "viability" for skin cells known as fibroblasts, encouraging them to band together and form new tissue.
The development of these sorts of wound dressings will likely not be expensive, either. "I don't think the cost will be much more than a regular bandage," said University of Wisconsin professor Xudong Wang. "The device in itself is very simple and convenient to fabricate."
Only time will tell whether or not Wang's prediction holds true, but for now, this tech is looking pretty good. However, it will need to be tested on a much greater scale before it could ever hit the market.