Electric bandages may be in our future. The US Army Medical Research and Material Command is testing a polyester cloth wound dressing with zinc and silver microdots which, when moisture is present, create micro-currents that emulate (according to the manufacturer) the electric currents present in healing wounds. It also reportedly reduces pain; silver and zinc also have antimicrobial qualities and shorten healing time. Vomaris, located in Arizona, developed the dressing product known as Procellera and the electrically active part is dubbed Prosit. It is FDA cleared for professional use for partial and full thickness wounds. The OTC version will be sometime in the future. New bioelectric bandage interests Army (US Army website) Procellera, Vomaris websites. (Warning, graphic before/after images of skin wounds.)
To give you an idea of how long it takes to get medical device technology to market…CNN Money featured it in February 2009–and the founder started it, yes, in his garage, in 2004. In 2009 it was in test at the Mayo Clinic and Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Ed. Donna note: Can any of our readers imagine this coupled with a monitoring system, similar to Proteus Biomedical’s Raisin for ‘smart pills’ [TA 22 July 11], for monitoring patients at home with severe diabetic wounds or pressure ulcers–for compliance and healing progress?