Burns

For the first time, scientists have combined six primary skin cell types with hydrogels to ‘print’ a thick, multilayered skin that, when transplanted, successfully integrated with surrounding tissue to heal wounds more rapidly and with less scarring.

It's a sad fact that burn victims often feel a great deal of pain when the dressings on their wounds are removed. A new hydrogel-based dressing could change that, however, as it easily releases from the skin when cooled.

Although silver is highly effective at killing bacteria, it can also be toxic to humans in large amounts. That's where a new wound dressing is intended to come in, as it only releases its silver payload when infections are present.

Scientists at the University of Toronto have spent years developing a portable device that can print out large sheets of "bio ink" to boost the healing process from severe burns, and have just proved its abilities in pigs for the first time.

When someone has a severe burn, a protective covering needs to be temporarily grafted onto the wound site. Although that covering typically consists of skin from a human cadaver, live-cell pig skin has now been used on a patient for the first time.

​​The collagen-rich properties of fish skin have seen it gain some serious utility as a tool for treating burns. Veterinarians have now used a new form of this approach to bring a severely burned Rottweiler back from the brink of death.

​One of the problems with antibiotics is the fact that new ones have to constantly be produced, in order to kill resistant strains of bacteria. When it comes to treating infected wounds, however, antibiotics may be getting some help – in the form of microscopic polystyrene beads.

​​Although a lot of us may already slather on the vitamin E when we get sunburned, it looks like vitamin D might also help our skin to recover. In a recent study conducted by Case Western University, it was found that orally-administered vitamin D can actually promote healing.

​Although high-voltage electrical shocks can cause burns, scientists have recently shown that the application of pulsed electric fields actually aids in healing them. It does so by killing skin cells.

The SkinGun applies stem cells to the site of a burn in a novel way, helping increase both treatment and recovery time over standard methods. New tests show that it delivered a healing spray with 200 times more coverage than traditional methods.

Technological University of Mexico spin-off company Protesta is developing a low-cost artificial arm made from lightweight polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic. As an added bonus, the arm will alert the user if it gets too hot.

In the not-too-distant future, burn victims may be able to recover in the half the time than is possible today. If so, it will be thanks to a biodegradable dressing that applies cultured skin cells directly to the wound site.