
Spray-on nanofiber 'skin' may revolutionize wound care - walterbell
https://www.fastcompany.com/90365782/this-spray-on-nanofiber-skin-may-revolutionize-burn-and-wound-care
======
Ice_cream_suit
I love it !

There are some great scams in the wound healing market.

[https://www.polarityte.com/products/skinTE-
providers](https://www.polarityte.com/products/skinTE-providers) is another
great example.

"PolarityTE's Many Deceptions Sep. 11, 2018 8:32 AM ET|Includes: PolarityTE,
Inc. (PTE) Summary PolarityTE is a biotech company claiming to have its own
patented regenerative medicine platform which is capable of regenerating ten
different tissue types.

Its financiers and some of its ex-officers are notorious pump-and-dump
scammers who were recently sued by the SEC.

In this report we detail a number statements by management which range from
things unlikely to be to true, to outright lies and securities fraud.

We back up everything with extensive evidence and research.

We do not believe the company is trustworthy, especially given the
extraordinary claims they make about their product pipeline and their
unwillingness to answer questions."

[https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/49608862-research-
noir/52...](https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/49608862-research-
noir/5210078-polaritytes-many-deceptions)

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mirimir
Well, it does sound wonderful. Could be bollocks, though.

There is spray collodion aka nitrocellulose. It's just old-school molecules,
though.

I love Band-Air Hydro Seal (hydrocolloid) bandages and 3M Tegaderm film. They
work _far_ better than absorbent bandages.

I once stuck a finger in a running high-speed axial fan. Maybe 2-3 mm got
shredded. So I just wrapped the fingertip with hydrocolloid bandages, and
forgot about it. Maybe two weeks later, it had completely healed, with no
scar.

~~~
chromeguy66
Do you still feel touch the way you used to?

~~~
mirimir
Yes, totally.

It wasn't _that_ much, really. And very little flesh was actually missing.
Just cut in ragged ways. So I just trimmed off the shattered nail, washed with
warm water, and then peroxide. After patting dry with sterile gauze, I applied
two small hydroseal bandages. First around the dorsal (nail) side, and then
around the ventral side, with a little overlap. I used a small Skin-Flex
bandage, with the gauze pad removed, to prevent the hydroseal bandages from
coming off. And used methyl methacrylate to glue the end of the outer bandage.

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peteforde
Okay - this would be incredible for so many reasons, but if it exists today
and is in use in hospitals, why not show footage instead of Tim & Eric-style
marketing fluff?

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Don't get me wrong: I want
this to exist, yesterday. But can we see a bit more live use, please?

~~~
n_ary
Agreed. There is no footage of actual skin, just too much focus on the device
itself and at 00:01:06 to make things weird, they declare it as "transparent
skin". I suspect it is in testing probably and will need more trials on actual
humans first or something.

------
gforge
MD here: perhaps as an alternative to outpatient wounds but we've been using
glue for 10+ years now. It works when you have a clean wound but often you
need to reconstruct messy wounds and then glue doesn't get the job done. You
need to be able to pull the skin and with glue you will just end up gluing
your glove onto the wound (yup, personal experience).

In the operating theater I don't really see it happening. We've been
discussing using glue there but then you need an additional layer of sutures
which usually take longer to do (intracutaneous). Anything that takes time in
the threatre is usually a deal breaker.

There are probably use cases outside my field but even for burns I'm uncertain
if it is a good fit. Most wounds are not sterile and encapsulating bacteria
under a layer of fiber seems like a recipe for pushing the bacteria deeper and
generating a more severe infection.

~~~
elif
10+ years? Hm.. super glue has been used by hikers to treat wounds for as long
as I can remember (20+?)

I wonder if this is a case of necessity inventing it and medical practice
following

~~~
gforge
Yeah, I remember some spray version when I was a kid. The 10+ is how long I
think it has been present at my particular hospital.

The interesting thing is that it hasn't really caught on. We don't have any
financial pressure or other external factors, it is really convenient, yet I'm
pretty sure that only 10-20% of the doctors use it.

------
scottlamb
Is it safe? When I hear nanofibers, I think of previous articles I read
comparing nanofibers/nanotubes with asbestos. So however handy it seems I'd
rather avoid it until there are data on its long-term health effects. I don't
want it on my wound. I don't want to be nearby potentially breathing in the
spray. I definitely don't want to be the health care professional repeatedly
exposed to it.

Not the exact articles I read, but a similar theme:

[https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/articles/are-
car...](https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/articles/are-carbon-
nanotubes-a-new-asbestos-298901)

[https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/carbon-nanofibres-
linked-...](https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/carbon-nanofibres-linked-to-
mesothelioma)

~~~
oliwarner
It might be structurally similar to asbestos fibrils but asbestos is directly
carcinogenic. Carbon microstructures _probably_ aren't (unless it's carrying
something that is).

It might still donk your lungs up if it can't be absorbed. Functional
inflammation, COPD if you inhale a lot. Abrasive cancers in long term,
repeated exposure.

Aerosolising it seems, I agree, far too risky. A sheet or liquid alcohol-
evaporative application makes more sense.

------
Animats
What happened with the 2012 "spray on skin" treatment?[1]

[1] [https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/spray-skin-cells-
heal...](https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/spray-skin-cells-heal-wounds-
fast/story?id=16921765)

~~~
stuzenz
I don't think it is, but sounds similar to Avita Medical (AVH.ASX) and AVMXY.
Their recell product has great results for burns, Vitiligo and diabetic skin
lesions.

Avita have been at it for quite a while and are now in 28 America Burn
Association Burn centers and look like they are increasing that number
significantly this year.

Strong patent portfolio, focused on skins and a couple of other indications at
the moment.

Disclosure, I am an investor.

Their lead researcher is really fun to listen to. I have a lot of respect for
her
[https://www.youtube.com/embed/ujqxB-I2rdM](https://www.youtube.com/embed/ujqxB-I2rdM)

The company is this one [https://avitamedical.com/about-
recell](https://avitamedical.com/about-recell)

~~~
stuzenz
Decent overview here - from what they presented at this year's American Burn
Association conference [https://www.marketscreener.com/AVITA-MEDICAL-
LTD-8777378/new...](https://www.marketscreener.com/AVITA-MEDICAL-
LTD-8777378/news/AVITA-Medical-Announces-Presentation-at-ABA-Meeting-
Highlighting-Results-of-Study-Using-RECELL-Sy-28367306/)

------
baxter001
Smells more of marketing than anything else.

------
dahdum
This reads like it was written by their PR firm, light on details and high on
marketing fluff and hype. Most of the author’s lastest articles look like fed
submarines to me.

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joezydeco
Why does the video at 0:36 mention _cannabis_?

Is it a painkiller? Does this thing double as a bong?

~~~
cronix
Cannabis is an analgesic.

