This Israeli medical gun uses electricity to produce ‘skin substitute’ for burns, wounds
An Israeli company has manufactured a medical gun that releases a breathable skin substitute to cover burns and wounds, helping patients recover without the need for painful bandage covers.
According to a report in The Guardian, the medical gun, known as Spincare system, has been manufactured by Israeli company Nanomedic.
Spincare uses a technique known as electrospinning that involves using electricity to create nano-fibres from a solution. While this technique has been in use in the medical field for many years, Spincare is much smaller than the large electrospinning machines previously available and can hence be taken to a patient’s bedside.
The company has now applied for regulatory clearance of the device in India. Gary J. Sagiv, president for marketing and sales at Nanomedic, told ThePrint, “We have applied for regulatory clearance in India which we should be receiving at the end of the month.”
Apart from allowing greater mobility, the device also lets patients take showers which can otherwise be difficult with traditional bandages. It facilitates painless dressing, reduces risks of infection, is a one-time application and enables quick healing. While the company claimed the device to be cost-effective, it remains unclear what would be its exact price in India.
“Spincare is the same sort of concept — the idea of protecting a
wound and letting nature do what it will do. Although it’s not
absolutely novel in the sense that it’s a stick-on dressing that stays
stuck, it’s a novel way of applying it. And in some respects, it’s
probably a little bit easier,” UK-based doctor Baljit Dheansa, who has
treated five patients with Spincare in Sussex’s Queen Victoria hospital,
has been quoted as saying in The Guardian report.
Mimics human skin
Spincare is a contactless device and had been used for facial wounds too.
“One hospital in Germany had used the product for facial wounds, where large bandages could be burdensome. Others had applied it to wounds on people with diabetes, who can develop chronic foot sores that can lead to amputation,” Sagiv has been quoted as saying by The Guardian.
“With this kind of dressing, in the right circumstance, it just means the patient doesn’t have to learn about how to do dressings, and they are bit more flexible and don’t have to worry so much. And sort of relax a bit more,” Dheansa told The Guardian.