Weird Science: Air Force Treats Wounds with Lasers and Nanotechnology

Weird Science: May 25, 2010 
Air Force Treats Wounds with Lasers and Nanotechnology

  Long gone are stitches and old-school sutures. The Air Force is now funding scientists who are using nanotechnology and lasers to seal up wounds at a molecular level. This is the latest in a series of ambitious Pentagon efforts to create faster, more effective methods of treating war-zone injuries. Last year, the military’s research agency, Darpa, requested proposals for instant injury repair using adult stem cells, and Pentagon scientists are already doing human trials of spray-on skin. Massachusetts General Hospital researchers Irene Kochevar, Robert Redmond, and dermatologist Sandy Tsao are behind the nano-tech project, which has been funded by various agencies within the Department of Defense for 8 years. They’ve successfully tried out the nano-sutures in lab experiments and a clinical trial of 31 patients in need of skin incisions. The process could potentially replace the sutures and staples traditionally used to repair wounded skin. Instead of being sealed up with a needle and thread, a patient’s wound would be coated in a dye then exposed to green light for 2-3 minutes. The dye absorbs the light and catalyzes molecular bonds between the tissue’s collagen. The bonds instantly create a seal that’s watertight, which prevents inflammation or risk of infection, and speeds up the formation of scar tissue.

  The process uses a hand-held laser device roughly a foot long and a few inches wide. Penetrating eye wounds, like shrapnel injuries, could also benefit from a patch version of the treatment. A biological membrane stained with dye would be applied over the eye, and quickly sealed using the laser until a soldier could undergo more intensive surgery.

  The researchers want to try out the procedure in more invasive surgeries and conduct more extensive testing on people, in hopes of fast-tracking war-zone use. They’ve applied for funding to conduct human trials on nerve repair. A continuous molecular seal of a nerve or in a corneal implant would be a profound leap in the right direction, particularly toward FDA approval.

  For more information, visit https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/05/air-force-researchers-heal-wounds-with-lasers-and-nanotech/#ixzz0nB5LMEUe.

Clinical Commentary
  On May 25, long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away Star Wars introduced the universe to laser sabers capable of bloodlessly chopping off an enemy’s hand or head. Fast-forward to 2010 where Professors Kochevar, Redmond, and Tsao of the Starship Harvard can now reverse the process with a novel dye that when photo activated in vivo can seal a wound. Direct “laser welding” of tissue has been around for almost two decades but never caught on for regular use as it was technique dependent and not easy to perform. The brilliant teams from Harvard’s Wellman’s Laboratories have taken the technology to the next step with what appears to be a simple to use technology that should eventually find use in the clinic, operating room, and battlefield. Not one to avoid mixing metaphors, but this is a technology that could raise Mr. Spock’s eyebrows. I can see Captain Kirk shouting into his communicator, “Heal Me Up, Scotty!”— Daniel Mark Siegel, MD, MS