This new electric bandage is powered a by wearable nanogenerator constructed of overlapping sheets of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), copper foil, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The nanogenerator converts skin movements into small electrical pulses, which then flow to two working electrodes placed on either side of the wound to produce a weak electric field. Basically, energy generated by a patient’s body fuels the electrical pulses.

“Our device is as convenient as a bandage you put on your skin,” Xudong Wang, a professor of materials science and engineering at UW-Madison, told the university’s communications team.

The tests showed that such e-bandages heal wounds within three days, compared to 12 days with a normal control bandage.

“We were surprised to see such a fast recovery rate,” said Wang. “We suspected that the devices would produce some effect, but the magnitude was much more than we expected.”