Liquid Bandage Detects Tissue Oxygenation
In This Article
- By monitoring tissue oxygenation, surgeons can quickly detect vascular problems that may occur if blood flow to transplanted tissue is interrupted or inadequate
- The current standard for monitoring tissue oxygenation is the use of a wired tissue oximeter
- Massachusetts General Hospital researchers have validated the practicality and accuracy of an oxygen-sensing liquid bandage that measures the concentration of oxygen in transplanted tissue
- In women undergoing breast reconstruction surgery after cancer, researchers found that the transparent liquid bandage detected tissue oxygenation as well as the oximeter and is less likely to yield false readings
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Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and surgeons at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have validated the practicality and accuracy of an oxygen-sensing liquid bandage that measures the concentration of oxygen in transplanted tissue. The trial, published in Science Advances, compared the performance of a novel, paint-on bandage made with phosphorescent materials to a wired tissue oximeter (ViOptix device)—the current standard for monitoring tissue oxygenation—in women undergoing breast reconstruction surgery after cancer.
Conor L. Evans, PhD, principal investigator at Mass General's Wellman Center for Photomedicine, said that the oximeter, which uses old technology, is uncomfortable for the patient, obstructs visual inspection of the tissue and can give false readings.
Following a request from the Department of Defense, Dr. Evans and his team sought to develop a better oxygenation sensor to reduce failure rates of tissue transplant surgeries and skin grafts in injured soldiers.
Five women undergoing breast reconstruction were enrolled in the trial from March to September 2017. The liquid bandage was painted on in a 1 cm by 1 cm area on seven transplanted flaps. A wired oximeter was also placed on each flap, and tissue oxygenation was monitored for 48 hours after surgery. The bandage measured the amount of oxygen getting to the tissue itself, while the ViOptix read the amount of oxygen saturation in the blood with near-infrared spectroscopy—a less direct measurement of crucial blood flow to the transplant. In all seven flaps, the tissue oxygenation rate of change measured by the bandage correlated with the oximeter, and all seven flaps were successful.
The researchers have since developed a battery-powered sensor head for the bandage that eliminates the need for a camera and makes the sensor self-contained. The oxygen-sensing bandage could also be applied to wound healing, tissue transplants for trauma, skin grafts and several other clinical practices.
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