It\u2019s long been a staple of science fiction to mock the simple suture as outdated. And why not \u2014 the wound-closure technique has been in use for at least 5,000 years.<\/p>\n
Professor Hossam Haick\u2019s 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\u2019s condition to the surgeon.<\/p>\n
The dressing would be applied to the area before a surgical incision is made. Following the surgery, the two ends of the wound bind together within three seconds.<\/p>\n
The dressing can release antibiotics to help prevent infection, and it is connected wirelessly to the medical team\u2019s smart devices. The smart dressing can deliver real-time reports on changes in temperature, pH and glucose levels.<\/p>\n
Haick says he came up with the idea late one night after \u201cwatching a movie on futuristic robotics with my kids. I thought, what if we could really make self-repairing sensors?\u201d<\/p>\n
He got to work on his idea the next day. But there was a problem: The sensor was not biocompatible, meaning that it couldn\u2019t be used in contact with skin and blood.<\/p>\n
Creating a polymer that would be both biocompatible and self-healing was achieved by Haick\u2019s postdoctoral student Ning Tang.<\/p>\n
Tang\u2019s polymer is like a molecular zipper made from sulfur and nitrogen. The surgeon\u2019s scalpel opens it, then when pressed together, it closes and holds fast. Integrated carbon nanotubes provide electric conductivity and integrate the sensor array.<\/p>\n
In lab experiments, wounds closed with the smart dressing healed as fast as those closed with sutures. Moreover, they showed reduced rates of infection.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve introduced the advances of the fourth industrial revolution \u2013 smart interconnected devices,\u201d Haick says. \u201cIt\u2019s a new approach to wound treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the technology is now patented.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have started discussions with a few agencies towards bringing this technology to the market.\u201d<\/p>\n
Haick is a prolific inventor. In 2013 he developed Na-Nose, a device that can detect various cancers through a simple in-office breath test. Patients breathe into a tube; the Na-Nose analyzes the more than 1,000 different gases that are contained in the breath to identify those that may indicate that something\u2019s wrong. It works by binding gases to specific nano-materials.<\/p>\n
Next came \u201ce-skin\u201d and wearable health monitors.<\/p>\n
He also developed the A-Patch, a skin sticker that can diagnose tuberculosis.\u00a0This was developed in Haick\u2019s lab and supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The invention is described in the journal\u00a0Advanced Materials<\/a>.<\/p>\n