Research Description
The inability to predict who will and will not respond to standard care is one of the major obstacles to improved outcomes in diabetic foot ulcers, representing an urgent and unmet need. We are proposing to utilize wound fluid captured in discarded wound dressings as an often-overlooked source of biomaterial to identify and test potential prognostic and monitoring biomarkers that can serve to predict healing outcome or monitor healing progression in DFU patients. Upon completion, this non-invasive simple approach of assessment will provide unique set of diagnostic tools to clinicians that has the potential to be truly paradigm shifting in clinical care of patients with diabetic foot ulcers. Ultimately these biomarkers would provide rapid and reliable assessment of the state of the wound that can predict healing outcomes resulting in guidance for more precise treatment protocols. Our long-term goal is to develop “smart” wound dressings that will provide clinically valuable information that can transmit data wirelessly to a smartphone, provide real-time diagnostics of wound status and guide treatment strategies.Research Profile
What area of diabetes research does your project cover? What role will this particular project play in preventing, treating and/or curing diabetes?Our research focuses on understanding diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) and how we can develop targeted therapies to accelerate wound closure in these non-healing chronic wounds. The current project aims to first develop and then validate biomarkers of non-healing DFUs that could serve to either predict healing outcome or diagnose trajectory of healing. Our aim is to develop "smart" dressings which could communicate by any phone/hand-held device via wireless/bluetooth and provide real-time assessment of the wound microenvironment that could be utilized by the health care provider to guide more precise treatment options.
If a person with diabetes were to ask you how your project will help them in the future, how would you respond?Our project focuses on a personalized approach to treatment of diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). It is currently very difficult to predict which wounds will heal and which wounds will not, thus making it rather difficult to determine the most effective approach to treating each DFU case. By incorporating biomarkers of healing status into wound dressings, a health care provider can tailor personalized treatment options for each case. For example, if a DFU wound is on a healing trajectory, it should be left relatively undisturbed, whereas if we can predict that a DFU will be on a non-healing trajectory, the wound fluid collected in the dressing could let us know exactly what is perturbed, and moreover, how to convert this chronic wound into an acute wound. Lastly, our technology could be used in clinical trials to more quickly evaluate whether a particular treatment option is working, as opposed to waiting up to 12 weeks (or more) to see whether the wounds completely close.
Why important for you, personally, to become involved in diabetes research? What role will this award play?DFUs are the most common and costly lower limb complication of DM. It is estimated that the lifetime incidence of DFUs, in persons with type 2 DM may be as high as 1 out of every 3 individuals. Complications of DM impair healing leading to perpetuation of the ulcers and secondary infection. Over 50% of patients with DFU fail to heal with standard care and over 30% do not fully heal after 6 months even with advanced care. It is becoming increasingly evident that individuals respond differently to both standard of care, as well as different treatment options. I believe that if we can have a better idea of those wounds which will heal, versus those which may not, we can develop more personalized care options and reduce the lower limb complications ) associated with DM, including infections and amputations (among others).
In what direction do you see the future of diabetes research going?Precision medicine and personalized care.