Bedsores have been the bane of immobile patients, and their doctors, for decades. In the 19th century, the consequences of these skin lesions were so severe they were said to herald death. Today, doctors and medical processionals are trained to prevent these dying patches of skin, and the serious septic infections associated with them, by ensuring that patients do not sit or lie in the same position for too long, but this method is imperfect.
Now, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Francisco have developed a new bandage that senses dying skin cells before they're visible to the human eye. This bandage could help doctors and medial professionals detect bed sores in their earliest stages when they can easily be healed, according to a press release:
“By the time you see signs of a bedsore on the surface of the skin, it’s usually too late,” said Dr. Michael Harrison, a professor of surgery at UCSF and a co-investigator of the study. “This bandage could provide an easy early-warning system that would allow intervention before the injury is permanent. If you can detect bedsores early on, the solution is easy. Just take the pressure off.”
As associate professor Michel Maharbiz, PhD, explains in the video above, the cellophane-like bandage works by using a network of electrodes to detect the changes in electrical signals associated with dying cells. “The genius of this device is that it’s looking at the electrical properties of the tissue to assess damage. We currently have no other way to do that in clinical practice,” said Harrison.
Previously: New medicine? A look at advances in wound healing, Researchers turn to spider webs to design improved medical tape and The human condition
