新型创可贴引关注
肉色的创可贴是我们生活中最常见的帮助伤口愈合的产品，但需要经常更换，多少有些不方便。然而最近，有一群研究人员研发出一种高科技创可贴，据说能帮助伤口更快愈合，而且自己能够功能。我们一起来看看吧。
The reign of flesh-colored Band-Aids may soon be disrupted. Researchers have revealed a new high-tech competitor that might just revolutionize the healing industry: a self-powered bandage that generates an electric field over a boo-boo.
那种肉色的邦迪创可贴的霸主地位可能很快就要被推翻了。研究人员们公布了一种新的高科技竞争者，它或许能给康复行业带来一场革命：这种创可贴能够在伤口上产生一个电场，而且它是自己给自己供能的。
According to a new report in Science Daily, engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison created a new kind of protective bandage that sends a mild electrical stimulation, thereby “dramatically” reducing the time a rat’s wound takes to heal.
根据《每日科学》的一篇新报道，威斯康星-麦迪逊大学的工程师们创造了一种新的保护性创可贴，它能够产生一种柔和的电刺激，从而能“大幅”降低老鼠伤口愈合的时间。
The technology could be especially useful for people who suffer from chronic wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers, venous ulcers, and non-healing surgical wounds.
这项技术最能帮到的或许是那些深受慢性创面之苦的人，那些慢性创面包括糖尿病引起的足部溃烂、静脉性溃烂以及不能愈合的手术创口。
Often, these kind of wounds don't respond well to general bandaging procedures.
通常主流包扎方式对这样的创口都没有太好的效果。
This new electric bandage is powered a by wearable nanogenerator constructed of overlapping sheets of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), copper foil, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
这种新的电力创可贴是通过可穿戴的纳米发电机来供电的，这种发电机由层叠的聚四氟乙烯、铜箔和聚酯构成。
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.
这种纳米发电机会把皮肤的运动转化成电脉冲，这些电脉冲会流到位于伤口两端的两个电极并产生微弱的电场。基本上是病人在用自己的身体给它发电。
"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.
威斯康星-麦迪逊大学的材料科学与工程教授Xudong Wang告诉学校的宣传组说：“我们的设备和你贴在皮肤上的创可贴一样方便。”
The tests showed that such e-bandages heal wounds within three days, compared to 12 days with a normal control bandage.
实验发现这种电力创可贴能够让伤口在3天内愈合，而普通的创可贴需要12天。
"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."
Wang教授说：“这么快的愈合速度让我们很吃惊。我们原本确实指望它能有些作用，但这个作用的力度已经超出了我们的预期。”
Moving forward, the researchers intend to further study how the pulses affect healing with a study on pig skin, which closely resembles human tissue.
下一步，研究者们准备研究它会如何影响猪皮的愈合过程，猪皮和人体组织非常相似。
They also want to further increase the nanogenerators' capabilities, which may include new ways to harness energy, like utilizing small, imperceptible twitches in the skin or the pulse of a heartbeat.
他们还想进一步提高纳米发电机的性能，这包括通过新的方式来获取能源，比如通过皮肤上微小、无法察觉的抽动，或者是通过心跳。
The team believes their new invention could solve a medley of medical issues. And better yet, it's relatively low-cost, just a smidge more expensive than a regular bandage. "The device in itself is very simple and convenient to fabricate," says Wang.
研究团队相信他们的新发明能够解决一系列的医疗问题。更棒的是，它的成本也比较低，只比一般的创可贴贵一丁点。Wang教授说：“这个设备本身是非常简单的，很容易就能做出来。”
