Congratulations to fourth-year Nanotechnology Engineering students Tiana Colantonio, Hillman Leung, Adrianus Sukuramsyah and Jonathan Wu for winning two micro-seed funding awards for their IuvoDerm wound-care product through the Engineer of the Future Fund. The team is aiming to help the many diabetic patients who suffer from nerve damage to heal faster from foot wounds, which would minimize their risk of life-changing complications.
The $800 Engineer of the Future Fund award that the IuvoDerm team won in the spring made them eligible for the $1,500 Cowan Prize that they were awarded at the Faculty of Engineering’s annual Engineering Awards Dinner on November 13, 2019. The team will use this money to develop the wound-care technology they are designing as part of their Capstone Design project.
The IuvoDerm team is working with Dr. Maud Gorbet to create a product that would help diabetic foot ulcers heal faster. The nature of diabetic blood combined with poor circulation inhibit a wound’s ability to heal, which means that people with such wounds suffer through long healing times and, in some cases, require foot or lower-leg amputation to prevent the spread of infection.
IuvoDerm aims to improve healing and reduce recovery time through targeted application of a porous hydrogel platform that would promote growth factors and prevent bacterial infection by allowing both oxygen permeation and drug diffusion of an anti-inflammatory agent. Furthermore, their antimicrobial long-term wound dressing would be easy to apply, and conform and adhere to the wound site, minimizing the need to change bandages frequently.
All the best to the IuvoDerm team as they continue to innovate for the benefit of the millions of people who suffer from diabetic ulcers every year.