I-Corps: Translation Potential of an Electrochemical Bandage to Manage Chronic Wound Infections

Award ID: 2630331

This I-Corps project is based on the development of a bandage that uses tiny electric currents to kill germs, clear dangerous bacterial biofilms, and speed up skin healing. Chronic wounds are a widespread clinical and economic burden across hospitals, outpatient clinics, long-term care, and home health as they are often difficult to treat because of infections that can persist between visits, form protective biofilms, and resist antibiotic treatment. This technology is a smart medical device that combines a disposable wound dressing with a small reusable controller that allows a clinician to select and deliver localized antimicrobial treatment when needed, rather than relying on a fixed amount of medication embedded in a passive dressing. Potential users include hospitals, wound-care clinics, long-term care, home health, veterans health, military medicine, and other settings that need practical infection-control tools. This technology supports continuous, targeted infection control, and may reduce treatment burden, improve access to care, and advance responsible antibiotic use. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of a programmable electrochemical bandage for active, localized antimicrobial treatment of wounds. The system integrates a disposable flexible electrochemical dressing with a programmable micropotentiostat that applies selected electrical potentials to generate low, controlled concentrations of hydrogen peroxide or hypochlorous acid at the wound interface. Current antimicrobial dressings release a fixed preloaded antimicrobial compound while this platform provides treatment on demand and allows the operating mode to be selected based on clinical need. Preliminary research demonstrates that the device electrochemically generates antimicrobial species and reduces wound-relevant biofilms. This technology may serve as a clinician-directed treatment tool that supports infection control for chronic wounds between patient visits while reducing reliance on conventional antibiotics. 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.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman