Forget stitches and old-school sutures. The Air Force is funding scientists who are using nano-technology and lasers to seal up wounds at a molecular level.
The process would replace the sutures and staples traditionally used to repair wounded skin. Instead of being sealed up with a needle and thread, a patient’s wound would be coated in a dye, then exposed to green light for 2-3 minutes. The dye absorbs the light and catalyzes molecular bonds between the tissue’s collagen.
The bonds instantly create a seal that’s watertight, which prevents inflammation or risk of infection, and speeds up the formation of scar tissue.
1 comment:
That whole idea of a spray-on layer of skin is really cool, mainly because of all the benefits it will have (if it works as planned) on wounds with risk of infection. Since infection rates are so high on deep wounds, being able to completely seal up a wound after cleaning it would be really helpful to the patient. For one, they wouldn't be able to tear their sutures, or have their wounds infected without tearing the skin again.
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