Moreover, they showed reduced rates of infection. In lab experiments, wounds closed with the smart dressing healed as fast as those closed with sutures. Integrated carbon nanotubes provide electric conductivity and integrate the sensor array. The surgeon’s scalpel opens it, then when pressed together it closes and holds fast. Tang’s polymer is like a molecular zipper made from sulfur and nitrogen. Photo courtesy of Technion Spokesperson’s OfficeĬreating a polymer that would be both biocompatible and self-healing was achieved by Haick’s postdoctoral student Ning Tang. But there was a problem: The sensor was not biocompatible, meaning that it couldn’t be used in contact with skin and blood. Haick got to work on his idea the next day. I thought, what if we could really make self-repairing sensors?” Haick says he came up with the idea late one night after “watching a movie on futuristic robotics with my kids. The smart dressing can deliver real-time reports on changes in temperature, pH and glucose levels. The dressing can release antibiotics to help prevent infection, and it is connected wirelessly to the medical team’s smart devices. Following the surgery, the two ends of the wound bind together within three seconds. The dressing would be applied to the area before a surgical incision is made. Hossam Haick’s chemical engineering lab at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology has created a smart suture-less dressing that binds the edges of a wound together, wards off infection, and even digitally reports on the wound’s condition to the surgeon. And why not – the wound-closure technique has been in use for at least 5,000 years. It’s long been a staple of science fiction to mock the simple suture as outdated.

Body heat movie photos