I-Corps: Noninvasive Wound Healing Using Pulsating Electromagnetic Fields (PEMFs)

Suny College At Potsdam, Potsdam NY

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of minimally invasive wound-healing technology. Hospital and nursing home acquired injuries, especially venous stasis ulcers and pressure sores, can negatively impact a patient’s mental, physical, social, and emotional well-being, in addition to being concerning to immediate family and healthcare providers. Treatment of chronic ulcers in the elderly is mostly palliative, involving application of bandages or dressings, and wounds can require months to years to heal. To date, most potential therapies utilizing vascular or endothelial mitogenic growth factors have not reached the clinically relevant criteria of wound regeneration or closure. Based upon feasibility studies, the Pulsating Electromagnetic Fields (PEMFs) offer the prospect of healing recalcitrant soft tissue wounds, such as chronic bed sores, in a minimally invasive manner. Better understanding of PEMF-induced healing may provide the critical information necessary for understanding the mechanism of action (MOA) and designing appropriate experiments, thus providing an avenue for successful regulatory filings and use as an effective clinical treatment for wound healing. The ability to efficiently stimulate maximal, sustained healing in targeted tissues remains a goal of importance to the field of regenerative medicine and provides a clear opportunity for PEMF therapy. This I-Corps project is based on the development of an effective, low-cost, low-frequency pulsed electromagnetic field (LF-PEMF) generating healing device for home care and nursing home professionals to use in the treatment of chronic ulcers in the elderly. The LF-PEMF may only require a prescription and a simple patient training session. Different PEMF modalities have been investigated as potential therapeutic tools for promoting tissue repair, including sinusoidal alternating, pulsed electromagnetic, pulsating electric, and rotating magnetic fields. Neww blood vessel growth (a.k.a. angiogenesis) can be stimulated by exposing in vitro cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells to PEMFs. Physiological activity of exposure to PEMF depends upon the physical parameters of current intensity, magnetic field strength, pulse frequency, and exposure duration. The application of novel LF-PEMFs “tuned” to initiating/sustaining angiogenesis may result in the ability to clinically treat soft tissue wounds, including chronic skin ulcers. This technology builds upon existing Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared LF-PEMF devices, currently used to promote bone growth in recalcitrant fractures and suggests applications for the use of novel waveform patterns to support soft tissue regeneration, specifically by promoting regeneration through cellular stress response signaling pathways. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.