Smart Bandages Grow Blood Vessels

(Inside Science TV) – Wrapping a cut or wound in an ordinary bandage protects it from dirt and bacteria, but it doesn't heal the wound, the body takes control of that.

Now, biomedical engineers have developed a bandage-like material that helps wounds heal faster by stimulating the growth of new blood vessels.

“It can be used for any type of tissue. You can put the bandage anywhere and it will cause new blood vessels to grow," said Vincent Chan, a biomedical engineer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The technology determines the precise location and growth pattern of new blood vessels.

“What we actually want to do is to recreate the new blood vessels so we can prevent the damage of the tissues…so we can completely recover the transport of the oxygen and nutrients to the cells and the tissues,” explained Hyunjoon Kong, a biomolecular and chemical engineer.

A 3-D printer creates the bandage out of a Jell-O-like material. Then, a laser cuts a pattern in the bandage, where researchers implant live cells containing growth factor chemicals that help blood vessels form within the pattern. The bandage was tested in a chicken embryo where new, healthy blood vessels grew according to the pattern within seven days.

“We expect that this function can really improve the treatment of the wound or any other tissue region which requires a new blood vessel," said Kong.

Future applications of the technology could help heart patients by directing new blood vessels to grow around blocked arteries.

Get Inside The Science:

Team designs a bandage that spurs, guide blood vessel growth

Hyunjoon Kong, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Rashid Bashir, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign