Surgical glue seals wounds in seconds
Biomedical engineers have developed MeTro, a highly elastic and adhesive surgical glue that seals wounds in 60 seconds without the need for staples or sutures.
The surgical glue has been developed through a collaboration between biomedical engineers from the University of Sydney and the United States.
MeTro's high elasticity means it is suited to sealing wounds in body tissues that continually expand and relax - such as lungs, hearts and arteries - that are otherwise at risk of re-opening.
According the University of Sydney, the material also works on internal wounds in hard-to-reach areas that have often required staples or sutures due to surrounding body fluid hampering the effectiveness of other sealants.
Cured using UV light, the technology is claimed to set in a minute and has a built-in degrading enzyme that can be modified to determine how long the sealant lasts. This can be hours or months, depending on the wound.
The material has so far been used to seal incisions in the arteries and lungs of rodents and the lungs of pigs, without the need for sutures and staples.
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