Venous ulcers, the most common chronic wound, affect about 1 percent of people in the U.S. Worse, the painful leg wounds take months to heal and frequently reoccur, running up an estimated $2 billion in healthcare costs. But in what could be the newest example of wearable medtech, a team of researchers from Drexel University used a Band-Aid-like wearable ultrasound device to generate better outcomes in a shorter amount of time, according to a statement from the university.
Venous ulcers are caused by venous hypertension, a condition in which blood flows backward due to a malfunctioning valve in a vein. Among the risk factors are obesity, previous leg injuries and deep venous thrombosis. Elderly people are at greater risk for developing them as well.
Low-frequency therapeutic ultrasound, which uses much lower levels of energy than ultrasound for prenatal monitoring, can increase the rate of healing in these wounds. The energy level is worth noting because it allows doctors to apply the ultrasound directly to the dressed wound for a longer period of time because it doesn’t heat up and the pressure of the device is gentler on the injured area, the statement said.
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In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers treated 20 people divided into four groups over a four-week period. The goal was to determine the most effective combination of ultrasound strength and duration of time for the treatment. The use of low-frequency ultrasound — 20 kilohertz for 15 minutes — was the winner and resulted in all five team participants healing completely within the trial time, according to a description of the test.
What makes this treatment stand out from the most commonly used methods is its active approach to healing. The other options take more time, according to Dr. Michael Weingarten, a professor at Drexel College of Medicine and director of the Comprehensive Wound Healing Program. He is one of the researchers carrying out the study.
“There are very few active therapies commercially available to stimulate wound healing in these patients,” Weingarten said. “There are some biosynthetic skin substitutes, which may be applied to the wound and potentially deliver growth factors to stimulate healing, but these technologies are expensive and are not always covered by insurance.”
Now the team just needs to figure out how and why it worked.
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[Featured photo from flickr user Indiana Public Media]
