Having diabetes often means having slow-healing wounds like chronic diabetic foot ulcers.
With more than half a billion people living with diabetes worldwide and that number projected to more than double to 1.3 billion people in the next 30 years, a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed a magnetic gel that promises to heal diabetic wounds three times faster and lower the rate of amputations.
The team has come up with a wound-healing hydrogel loaded with two types of US Food and Drug Administration-approved skin cells – keratinocytes (essential for skin repair) and fibroblasts (for the formation of connective tissue) – and tiny magnetic particles. The gel is applied to a bandage and placed on the wound.
To maximise therapeutic results, the team built a prototype wireless magnetic device to activate the skin cells on the gel, accelerating the healing process.
When exposed to a dynamic magnetic field generated by the external device, the magnetic particles move around – not too vigorously – moving the cells with them.
Lab tests have shown that the treatment with magnetic stimulation heals diabetic wounds three times faster than current conventional approaches.
“We have identified this ‘sweet spot’,” said Assistant Professor Andy Tay of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the NUS College of Design and Engineering, and principal investigator at the NUS Institute for Health Innovation and Technology.
“By applying gentle mechanical stimulation, the skin cells (on the bandage) interact with the patient’s own skin cells, giving them a ‘workout’ to heal wounds. This approach not only accelerates wound healing but also promotes overall wound health, reducing the chances of recurrence.” — The Straits Times/ANN
