In the halls of Capitol Hill, a rancorous battle rages over how to deliver better health care to the public. But in the nation's biotechnology labs scientists and engineers are staging a quieter revolution in basic patient care.In recent years, interdisciplinary teams of nanoscientists, engineers and surgeons have revolutionized the way we treat some of our most basic injuries (cuts, scrapes and wounds). Their work has lead to wound dressings that dramatically speed clotting, prevent scar formation or encourage healing, as well as new interventions that don't look anything like your childhood Band-Aids.In many cases, the new bandages look deceptively low-tech. Some of them are already in use, but the incredible new technologies may not even be visible to the patients who wear them.
ChitoGauzea
HemCon Medical Technologies manufactures bandages and wound dressings that harness the power of the sea. The company's products use chitosan, a biopolymer made from a component in the exoskeletons of crab, shrimp and other crustacean exoskeletons. The positively charged chitosan attracts the negatively charged outer membranes of red blood cells; when the two come into contact, localized clotting occurs. HemCon's chitosan-coated bandages are already in use in Iraq; its latest product is ChitoGauze. 