Smart, self-placing electric bandage to heal ischemic wounds
Official title: Toward smart personalized electrotherapy for enhanced healing of ischemic wounds
Funded at Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center · NIH-11526481 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new untethered, smart bandage uses electrical stimulation and real-time wound monitoring to help heal chronic ischemic wounds in veterans.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cleveland, United States) |
| Project start | March 1, 2017 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01RX002166-11 |
| Project ID | NIH-11526481 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with chronic ischemic wounds, including veterans, who would benefit from advanced wound care technologies and remote monitoring.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose wounds are not compatible with electrical stimulation or who have contraindications to electric therapies may not benefit.
What this research studies
This grant focuses on translating a flexible, self-contained electronic bandage into a therapy that can repeatedly deliver electrical stimulation to a chronic wound while monitoring healing remotely. It builds on prior work showing two ES approaches that sped healing in large, ischemic wounds in animals and includes testing in a relevant large animal model. The goal is a bandage that stays in place during treatment and provides remote monitoring to improve healing outcomes and reduce costs. If successful, patients with non-healing wounds could receive more consistent therapy without frequent bandage changes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could experience faster wound healing, reduced pain, and fewer clinic visits due to better, remote-managed therapy.
How similar studies have gone: Previous animal studies showed improved healing and reduced infection with optimized ES; translational work aims to extend these findings to humans.
Where this research is happening
-
Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center
Cleveland, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bogie, Kath — Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Bogie, Kath
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.