Engineered Systems for Burn Research
Abstract
Approved for public releasePROJECT SUMMARYBurns, commonly the result of thermal, chemical, or electrical insults, make up 5-15% of military combat casualties and are one of the most complex forms of trauma. These injuries result in lifelong physical and psychological sequelae, severely affecting patients# mental health, quality of life, and ability to return to work or military service even after the physical injuries have healed. Due to their complex nature and resource intensive treatment requirements, typically deployed healthcare teams are not adequately equipped to handle them. Civilians are also significantly affected by burn injuries, especially those from rural areas and resource limited communities, which often lack specialized care centers and trained medical personnel.Particularly in the context of conflict or natural disaster scenarios, two clear unmet needs exist in burn management preparedness. One is the lack of therapeutic solutions that lead to nonstigmatizing therapeutic outcomes via physiological tissue repair with no/minimal scarring and functional healing; the second is the scarcity of therapeutic solutions which can be effectively used by personnel with minimal or no training in resource-limited settings. To address these unmet needs, with this proposal we seek to:1. Develop in vitro, physiological representative burn models that would allow for the rapid and effective high-throughput screening of prospective new therapeutics. Specifically, we seek to pursue the development of comprehensive in vitro full thickness skin burn models withvarious burn causing agents (thermal, chemical, and electrical), which would enable a thorough understanding of the nature of the ensuing eschar, both in the context of the causative agent and wound infection.2. Develop and characterize novel therapeutics that could comprehensively address burn related eschar, infection management, and optimal wound healing. Here we seek to take a multifaceted, synergistic approach to enable the simultaneous management of these burn management components.3. Develop therapeutic formulations which would consider parameters such as cold-chain independence, direct usability without the need of preparation steps, suitability for minimalistic, non-bulky packaging, ease of use, and deployment by users with minimal or no medical training. Our efforts herewill be directed towards specifically assessing therapeutics formulation strategies for burn management in austere environments.Thesuccessful completion of this project would drive significant advances in the field of burn research. The in vitro 3D tissue modelscould represent a valuable research tool that would enable consistent, cost-effective high-throughput screening of new therapeuticstargeting burn management. This would provide increased opportunities to identify unexplored potential early therapeutic intervention points in wound management that lead to improved therapeutic outcomes. Lastly, our formulation approaches are expected to addresscritical product design and formulation considerations needed to advance to market dedicated products for use in resource-limited environments. Overall, the outcomes of the proposed work could greatly benefit both civilian and military interests.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 13, 2025
- Source ID
- N000142512037
Entities
People
- Monica Serban
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Montana