Medical Design Briefs - April 2023 - 28

Thus, this technology can generate
curves of these three indices continuously
and noninvasively, as the AI component
processes the continuous stream of images
to generate numbers and curves.
To create the platform, the team faced
some technical challenges that required
careful decision-making. To produce the
wearable device itself, the researchers
used a piezoelectric 1-3 composite bonded
with Ag-epoxy backing as the material
for transducers in the ultrasound imager,
reducing risk and improving efficiency
over previous methods. When choosing
the transmission configuration of
the transducer array, they achieved superior
results through wide-beam compounding
transmission. They also selected
from nine popular models for
machine-learning-based image segmentation,
landing on FCN-32, which
achieved the highest possible accuracy.
In the current iteration, the patch is connected
through cables to a computer,
which can download the data automatically
while the patch is still on. The team has developed
a wireless circuit for the patch,
which will be covered in a forthcoming
publication.
n Next Steps
Xu plans to commercialize this technology
through Softsonics, a company spun off
from UC San Diego that he cofounded with
engineer Shu Xiang. He also encourages
others in his scientific community to follow
his lead and work on areas of this research
that warrant further exploration.
To follow up on these results, Xu recommends
four immediate next steps:
* B-mode imaging, which allows more
diagnostic capabilities involving different
organs.
* The design of the soft imager, which
allows researchers to fabricate large
transducer probes that cover multiple
positions simultaneously.
* Miniaturization of the back-end system
that powers the soft imager.
* Working toward a general machine
learning model that fits more subjects.
This work was supported by the National
Institutes of Health (1R21EB025521-01,
1R21EB027303-01A1, 3R21EB02730302S1,
and 1R01EB033464-01).
This article was written by Emerson
Dameron and Ioana Patringenaru, UCSD.
Contact: Sheng Xu, shengxu@ucsd.edu.
For more information, visit https://today.
ucsd.edu.
First Transient Electronic Bandage Speeds Healing by 30%
The bandage monitors
the healing process,
alerting clinicians to
issues in real time.
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
Northwestern University researchers
have developed a first-of-its-kind small,
flexible, stretchable bandage that accelerates
healing by delivering electrotherapy
directly to the wound site.
In an animal study, the new bandage
healed diabetic ulcers 30 percent faster
than in mice without the bandage.
The bandage also actively monitors the
healing process and then harmlessly dissolves
- electrodes and all - into the
body after it is no longer needed. The new
device could provide a powerful tool for
patients with diabetes, whose ulcers can
lead to various complications, including
amputated limbs or even death.
The research was published online in
the journal Science Advances. It marks the
first bioresorbable bandage capable of
delivering electrotherapy and the first
example of a smart regenerative system.
" When a person develops a wound, the
goal is always to close that wound as quickly
as possible, " says Northwestern's Guillermo
A. Ameer, who co-led the study.
" Other wise, an open wound is susceptible
28
An up-close look at the device's electrode. (Credit: Northwestern)
to infection. And, for people with diabetes,
infections are even harder to treat and
more dangerous. For these patients, there
is a major unmet need for cost-effective
solutions that really work for them. Our
new bandage is cost-effective, easy to apply,
adaptable, comfortable, and efficient at
closing wounds to prevent infections and
further complications. "
" Although it's an electronic device,
the active components that interface
with the wound bed are entirely resorbable, "
says Northwestern's John A. Rogers,
who co-led the study. " As such, the
materials disappear naturally after the
healing process is complete, thereby
www.medicaldesignbriefs.com
avoiding any damage to the tissue that
could otherwise be caused by physical
extraction. "
An expert in regenerative engineering,
Ameer is the Daniel Hale Williams
Professor of Biomedical Engineering at
Northwestern's McCormick School of
Engineering and professor of surgery at
Northwestern University Feinberg
School of Medicine. He also directs the
Center for Advanced Regenerative Engineering
(CARE) and the predoctoral Regenerative
Engineering Training Program,
funded by the National Institutes
of Health. Rogers is the Louis Simpson
and Kimberly Querrey Professor of MaMedical
Design Briefs, April 2023
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Medical Design Briefs - April 2023

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