Wound Healing Splinting Devices for Faster Access and Use

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine
• Dermatology

Background:

• Rodent models are crucial for studying skin wound healing and testing new therapies.
• Current splinting techniques for rodent wound models are inefficient and hinder wound monitoring.
• Existing methods often involve suturing and extensive wrapping, leading to splint failure and reduced experimental throughput.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop improved splinting techniques for rodent wound healing models.
• To enhance surgical efficiency and facilitate routine wound monitoring and treatment delivery.
• To increase the translational relevance of rodent wound models to human wound healing by preventing contraction.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel splint with a resealable cap system for easy access.
• Creation of adherent splints applicable to both hairless and haired mice with minimal wrapping.
• Evaluation of the ease of use for wound inspection, therapeutic delivery, and imaging.

Main Results:

• The resealable cap splint allows for efficient wound inspection, treatment, and imaging without re-wrapping.
• Adherent splints simplify application on various mouse models, reducing procedural complexity.
• Both developed splints address limitations of current suturing and wrapping methods.

Conclusions:

• The new splint designs offer significant improvements over existing methods for rodent wound healing models.
• These innovations are expected to increase the adoption and efficiency of splinted wound healing studies.
• Enhanced models will better support the development of novel therapeutic treatments for skin wounds.