Electric Sutures Speed Up Healing with Bioabsorbable Stitches

casualSTEM delivers brief and informative summaries of the latest science news every Saturday. Full of jokes, silly polls, and a cartoon!

Sewing Electricity

Surgical stitches now generate electricity. A new version of sutures developed in China speeds up healing with voltage.

• Natural movement stretches stitches + generates charges

• Charges accelerate tissue repair and minimize bacterial infection

• Electrical sutures = ~35% improved healing in 10 day rat tests

The charged stitching is made from bioabsorbable materials, eliminating the need for surgical removal. Future tests will determine how versatile electric healing will be for humans. Until then we can rub our socks on the carpet for blister repair.

Shocking

Catch-up on science in sweatpants