Towards adaptive bioelectronic wound therapy with integrated real-time diagnostics and machine learning–driven closed-loop control
Impaired wound healing affects millions worldwide, especially those without timely healthcare access. Here, we have developed a portable and wireless platform for real-time, continuous, and adaptive bioelectronic wound therapy (a-Heal). The platform integrates a wearable device for wound imaging and delivery of therapy with an ML Physician. The ML Physician analyzes wound images, diagnoses the wound stage, and prescribes therapies to guide optimal healing. Bioelectronic actuators in the wearable device deliver therapies, including electric fields or drugs, dynamically in a closed-loop system. a-Heal evaluates wound progress, adapts therapy as needed, and sends updates to human physicians through a graphical user interface, which also supports manual intervention. In preliminary studies using a large animal model, a-Heal promoted tissue regeneration, reduced inflammation, and accelerated healing, highlighting its potential in personalized wound care.
Authors
- Shannon M. Clayton
- Ksenia Zlobina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6592-0965)
- Min Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2500-3035)
- Anthony Gallegos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1667-9065)
- Marco Rolandi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7898-2479)
- Athena M. Soulika (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6746-3876)
- Manasa Kesapragada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8003-2456)
- Mircea Teodorescu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7085-5248)
- R. Rivkah Isseroff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7813-0858)
- Karthik Devarajan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8475-383X)
- Tiffany Nguyen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1088-7840)
- Houpu Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9698-8911)
- Kan Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1146-8130)
- Wan Shen Hee
- Cynthia Recendez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7915-8980)
- Elham Aslankoohi
- Kylie Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6892-0236)
- Maryam Tebyani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5477-2805)
- Célia Maria Landi Franco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4941-1463)
- Marcella Gomez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4143-5460)
- Gordon Keller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0798-6728)
- Prabhat Baniya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5041-3407)
- Hsin‐ya Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5325-494X)
- Alexie Barbee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9446-3722)
- Narges Asefifeyzabadi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0872-0299)
- Kaelan Schorger
- Sydnie Figuerres
- Fan Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6490-6416)
- Sujung Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7455-2866)
- George Luka
- Annabelle Eaton
Institutions
- Shriners Hospitals for Children - Erie (US)
- University of California, Santa Cruz (US)
- Shriners Hospitals for Children - Northern California (US)
- University of California, Davis (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Biomedical Innovations.
- Published
- 2025-09-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44385-025-00038-6
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Planarian Biology and Electrostimulation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.22
Funders
- U.S. Department of the Interior
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Interior Business Center