I-Corps: Conductive hydrogel that can be applied to accelerate wound healing for diabetic patients with foot ulcers

该I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发用于足部溃疡糖尿病患者的伤口护理治疗。 目前需要一种治疗方法，其将减少美国患有慢性不愈合伤口的人数，例如更高阶段的糖尿病足溃疡和压力性溃疡，因为这些是医疗保健系统的重大经济负担。 该技术有望将伤口愈合速度加快25%，感染率降低10%。此外，所提出的治疗方法可以通过减少患有并发症（如下肢截肢和因足部溃疡而死亡）的患者数量来改善糖尿病社区的健康状况。 该技术还可以通过缩短压疮的愈合时间来改善脊髓损伤患者和老年护理机构中的患者等行动不便者的生活质量。I-Corps项目基于开发导电水凝胶治疗来改善伤口愈合。 具体而言，所提出的技术是一种基于透明质酸（HA）的导电水凝胶，其可以直接局部应用于伤口以启动和加速愈合过程，同时降低感染的发生率。迄今为止，研究主要集中在材料开发上，其中表征了水凝胶的粘弹性、溶胀性、降解性和导电性。此外，进行体外测试以评估包封在水凝胶内的干细胞的活力和增殖。 局部导电水凝胶治疗可以推进导电生物材料用于治疗皮肤伤口的有效性的知识。此外，经皮电刺激的拟议治疗的连续应用可能会潜在地指导未来伤口护理treatments.This奖项的方向反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a wound care treatment for diabetic patients with foot ulcers. There is a current need for treatments that will reduce the number of people in the U.S. suffering from chronic non-healing wounds, such as higher stage diabetic foot ulcers and pressure ulcers, as these are a significant economic burden on the healthcare system. The proposed technology is expected to accelerate wound healing by 25% and reduce infection rates by 10%. In addition, the proposed treatment may improve the well-being of the diabetic community by reducing the number of patients that suffer complications such as lower limb amputation and death due to foot ulcers. The proposed technology also may improve the quality of life for people living with limited mobility such as spinal cord injury patients and those in elder care facilities by reducing the healing time of pressure ulcers.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a conductive hydrogel treatment to improve wound healing. Specifically, the proposed technology is a conductive Hyaluronic Acid (HA)-based hydrogel that may be topically applied directly to wounds to initiate and accelerate the healing process while reducing the incidence of infection. To date, the research has focused on material development where the viscoelastic, swelling, degradation and conductive properties of the hydrogel were characterized. In addition, in vitro testing to assess the viability and proliferation of stem cells encapsulated within the hydrogel was conducted. A topical conductive hydrogel treatment may advance knowledge of the effectiveness of conductive biomaterials for treatment of dermal wounds. Further, adjunctive application of the proposed treatment with transdermal electrical stimulation may potentially guide the direction of future wound care treatments.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.