Quick Styx

Speeding up wound recovery in children undergoing achilles tendon surgery for clubfoot and other injuries utilising NASA-developed gauze.

Team Size:
1
Location:
Australia
Founders:
Peter Hartley
Program(s):

The Problem

Accelerate wound recovery for babies who have achilles tendon surgery as part of their clubfoot treatment. Less time in casts will optimise the experience for patients and parents and accelerate a technique that was created approximately 80 years ago. This technology has broader application for wound healing across surgery, and multiple disabilities including relapsed clubfoot and tendon transfer surgeries. This may possibly assist recovery in hip disabilities for children and in sports injuries for children including ACLs which are becoming more frequent in youth sports.

The Solution

My solution is to accelerate wound recovery, using a gauze developed by NASA, that generates an electrical current, without external batteries. This uses both heat from the body and pressure from repairing cells to accelerate wound recovery, and I would like to test whether this has an impact on deeper tissues and potentially tendons also.