This origami-inspired medical patch when applied to internal injuries biodegrades on its own - Yanko Design

A century ago, not a soul would accept imagined the advances in medical science we have achieved. Taking the evolution of medical surgeries a footstep further, MIT engineers have crafted an origami-inspired medical patch that tin can wrap around your internal organs with the utmost ease. This pattern makes it pretty useful in application to internal injuries or sensitive parts of the internal organs – airways, intestines, or hard to reach spaces. Aesthetically speaking, the blueprint appears just similar a foldable slice of paper; this patch contacts the tissues and organs. Afterwards that, it morphs into a thick gel that stays firmly on the injured surface area until information technology heals. The patch is made upwards of iii layers – the pinnacle layer is an elastomer film consisting of zwitterionic polymers that become a water-based skin-like barrier. The middle layer is the bio-adhesive hydrogel having the compound NHS esters to class a potent bond with the tissue surface. The bottom layer is made up of silicone oil to forbid information technology from sticking to the torso surface before reaching the intended target.

As compared to the adhesive tapes currently used, MIT's solution does not contaminate and resists the growth of bacteria and body fluids. The newly adult patch volition come in very handy for invasive procedures where small cameras and surgical tools are inserted inside the body. This medical patch will exist the ultimate solution for the surgeons and the recovering patient to bind the internal wounds and tears. Currently, the team at MIT is working with doctors and surgeons to fine-tune the patch'southward design so that it tin can be hands applied via invasive surgical tools – either by the surgeon or using medical robots. Co-ordinate to Xuanhe Zhao, a professor of mechanical engineering and civil and environmental engineering at MIT, "Minimally invasive surgery and robotic surgery are being increasingly adopted, as they subtract trauma and hasten recovery related to open surgery. Even so, the sealing of internal wounds is challenging in these surgeries."

Calculation to this, co-author Christoph Nabzdyk, a cardiac anesthesiologist and critical care physician at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said that this new development could assistance repair a perforation from a colposcopy or to the solid organs and blood vessels after surgery. This will eliminate the need to perform open surgery – by using the patch to seal the wound, and one time the injury heals, it biodegrades on its own, leaving behind no residue. Conspicuously, the medical patch will change the medical surgeries in a big way and speed up the healing procedure that is nifty for the patients.

Designer: MIT