Dressings

Scientists at Brown University have developed a new material that can release drugs only when pathogenic bacteria are around. When used as a bandage, the hydrogel could deliver medication on-demand when infection begins to take hold.

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.

When removing the dressing to check on a chronic wound, you ironically often set back the healing process. A new type of "smart bandage" was designed with this problem in mind, as it transmits wound data to an app on a clinician's mobile device.

If you're trying to make a wound dressing that will be well-tolerated by the human body, you may be best off using human-derived materials. That's the approach that German researchers have taken, creating a tropoelastin-based bandage.

Chronic wounds can be very difficult to treat, potentially leading to amputations or even death due to associated infections. A new dressing, however, may be able to heal such wounds while remaining much less expensive than other materials.

New weapons against so-called “superbugs” are desperately needed. A new black phosphorus coating quickly kills bacteria and fungi, then dissolves within 24 hours – and best of all, bacteria can’t evolve resistance against this mode of attack.

​With a few experimental exceptions, bandages generally just cover wounds, as opposed to actively healing them. That's not the case with a new heat-activated "active adhesive dressing" (AAD), however, which forgoes antibiotics while mimicking embryonic skin.

An incredible study has demonstrated the potential of a wound dressing that can fight bacterial infections using a weak electrical field. Offering a novel way to battle antibiotic-resistant infections, the dressing has been approved by the FDA and is currently being tested in human burn patients.

​​With the capacity to stem severe bleeding within around 20 seconds, the XStat syringe could be a game-changer in medical care. It has just proved its worth in the most testing of environments, with surgeons successfully using the device to plug a soldier's gunshot wound for the first time. ​

The XStat 30 is a device developed for military applications that stops severe bleeding within around 20 seconds through the injection of small sponges into a wound. It will now be available for use by the general population after winning approval from the FDA.

Researchers have developed a new "smart dressing" that's able to monitor patient wounds, lowering the need for visual inspections. According to the device's creators, it's not only more convenient than standard dressings, but could also reduce costs associated with wound healing.

We've heard about wound dressings that kill bacteria, but Australian researchers are taking a different approach. They're creating a dressing material that attracts bacteria out from within the wound, so that the material and the microbes can then just be pulled off and discarded.