Supercharging the Band-Aid: Five futuristic bandages that could take wound healing to the next level

Today’s bandages are pretty good at covering up wounds, sealing them off from infectious bacteria and allowing the body to go to work patching up the damage. But could there come a time when bandages play more of an active role in acceleratin… Continue reading Supercharging the Band-Aid: Five futuristic bandages that could take wound healing to the next level

Harvard hydrogel made by bacteria helps heal internal wounds

Slapping on a Band-Aid is the easiest way to help a cut on your skin heal, but things aren’t so simple for internal wounds. For one, it’s obviously much harder to reach that surface to put a dressing on it, but even when its open, say during … Continue reading Harvard hydrogel made by bacteria helps heal internal wounds

Hydrogel bandage uses body heat to speed wound healing

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 … Continue reading Hydrogel bandage uses body heat to speed wound healing

Implant uses electricity to heal the heart

We’ve already heard how electrical pulses have been shown to help heal wounds, by promoting tissue growth. An experimental new implant uses that same principle to aid in the regeneration of cardiac tissue, potentially postponing or even elimi… Continue reading Implant uses electricity to heal the heart

Walk It Off, Healing Robots

For many of us, our first robots, or technical projects, were flimsy ordeals built with cardboard, duct tape, and high hopes. Most of us grow past that scene, and we learn to work supplies which require more than a pair of kitchen scissors. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Iowa State University have made a material which goes beyond durable, it can heal itself when wounded. To a small robot, a standard hole puncher is a dire assailant, but the little guy in the video after the break keeps hopping around despite a couple of new piercings.

The researcher’s goal …read more

Continue reading Walk It Off, Healing Robots