Smart Stitches Create Electricity From Movement to Enhance Healing

Transforming Vulnerability into Advantage

While surgical stitches are effective for wound healing, they can sometimes come undone with excessive movement. However, researchers in China have transformed this vulnerability into an advantage by creating stitches that generate an electric charge when stretched, promoting faster healing.

Standard sutures commonly treat large and deep skin wounds by aligning the cells on either side of the injury, allowing them to repair the damage. Without these stitches, the healing process can become delayed, resulting in larger scars and an increased risk of infection.

Despite their benefits, sutures have complications. Movement can cause them to open, and they typically need to be removed by a healthcare professional after they have served their purpose. A recent study from Donghua University in China addresses both of these issues.

The unique mechanoelectrical fiber composes the innovative stitches. When movement causes the core and sheath layers of this fiber to come into contact and then separate, they generate electric fields that have been shown to accelerate the healing process.

The research team tested this concept on cell cultures in the lab. They found that a wound covering 69% of the surface area shrank to just 10.8% with the electric sutures after 24 hours, while a control group using standard sutures still covered 32.6% in the same period. The key factor appears to be that the electric signals enhance the movement of fibroblasts, which are essential for forming new connective tissue by producing collagen.

Effective Testing on Rats

Next, the scientists conducted tests on rats. After 10 days, the electrical sutures closed wounds by 96.5%, while the control group achieved only 60.4% closure.

Finally, the researchers examined the infection rates associated with both the electrical and traditional sutures. Regardless of daily disinfection, the electric sutures resulted in significantly lower bacterial levels in the rats compared to those with regular stitches.

Previous methods of using electricity to aid wound healing have relied on systems involving biosensors, batteries, and electrical stimulators. In contrast, this new approach works passively, relying on the patient’s natural movement.

Bioabsorbable Materials for Convenience

Additionally, the researchers believe that the bioabsorbable materials used to construct the electrical sutures will allow them to safely degrade in the body, eliminating the need for invasive surgical removal.

Although researchers still have much work ahead before testing these stitches in humans and potentially using them in clinical settings, this innovative concept promises to facilitate quicker and safer wound healing.

Read the original article on: New Atlas

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