A new kind of bandage.
July 18, 2012 3:05 AM   Subscribe

AmoeBAND has become a 2012 International Design Excellence Award finalist by innovating the hell out of the lowly plaster.
posted by catch as catch can (17 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
Wow. That is actually very nicely thought out (and not just pretty design).
posted by LMGM at 3:22 AM on July 18, 2012


The tearing part does not thrill me. I often lack the patience and dexterity for that when I'm applying a bandage.

The colour-changing and the braille labeling seem like good ideas.
posted by squinty at 3:24 AM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


I can't imagine using cloth bandages after using the newer plastic ones. They are just so, so much better than anything else. Stick it down, leave it there until it starts to lose adhesion (at least a week), and the wound will be mostly or completely healed, typically without scarring at all. With burns in particular, I'd think it'd be exceptionally dumb to use anything else.

They're kind of expensive, their only real downside.
posted by Malor at 3:27 AM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


Well, that is a pretty cool Band-Aid, but a doctor I know just turned me onto the "skin cast" which is the kind of innovation that makes redesigning the old stuff seem like a complete waste of time.

"The bandage is made from load-bearing layers of transparent silicone polymer and Teflon sheets lined with pressure-sensitive adhesive. The material is cut to fit the shape of the wound and pressed onto the skin with an applicator that applies just the right amount of pressure to the bandage to ensure that it won't move.

The bandage holds the skin taut at the edges of the wound, absorbing the everyday stresses that would normally tug and twist the healing wound."

You sitck it over the wound like sticky paper, a gentle press, the heat from your body fixes the adhesive, and you can forget about it for a week.

On preview what Malor is talking about.
posted by three blind mice at 3:29 AM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


I don't often need plasters, but when I do I wish someone would come up with something better. It looks like people are thinking about it.

I'm a sort-of-fan of the spray-on plaster. It is perfect for protecting the little grazes and nicks for which a traditional plaster is excessive. But it stings like hell when you apply it.
posted by milkb0at at 3:34 AM on July 18, 2012


I love this. It's smart and simple. Just like me.*

I'm a massive admirer of people who take effective, simple stuff and still keep asking if they can be even better and no less simple. Chapeau, AmoeBAND inventors.

*Technically, this is only half true.
posted by MuffinMan at 3:34 AM on July 18, 2012


An additional thought: this looks more like a concept than a real product (unless I'm missing something). I'd like to know how realistic the design and features are when it comes to actually making and selling them.

Like the folding 3-pin plug which was such a great-looking design but has taken 3 years to come to market, and even then it's currently limited to USB charging only.
posted by milkb0at at 3:40 AM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


The tearing part does not thrill me. I often lack the patience and dexterity for that when I'm applying a bandage.

Especially if, like me, most of your cuts on on your fingers. I want... maybe a one-handed applicator that rolls the plaster out on to the affected area from a large continuous roll in a refillable plastic thingy with a large handle. Something like a packing tape dispenser.

That, or I want a spray-on that glues your skin flaps together but is porous and disinfects and tastes good and comes off with soap.

And where are the pale/pink/freckly plasters? I want a chameleon plaster.

But it's interesting to see someone go hard at an old and boring product and come out with something somewhat better.
posted by pracowity at 4:08 AM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


I want a spray-on that glues your skin flaps together but is porous and disinfects and tastes good and comes off with soap.

Nah, you don't want it to be porous, that would not help healing.

Cuts on your fingers are almost impossible to bandage. For smaller nicks and cuts (which are the most common injury) I use New Skin, which I believe is nitrocellulose. It adheres (and stings like a bitch) but when it's dry, it's impervious to water and flexible, and will not come off until it wears away like your skin cells would normally wear off. It's also good for abrasions, since it covers up the surface to keep the air out.
posted by charlie don't surf at 4:49 AM on July 18, 2012 [3 favorites]


(And by "plaster" you meant "Blighty Band-Aid," correct? Not the building material?)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:25 AM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


I saw this the other day on tumblr of all places. I like that the plasters come in a variety of skin tones.
posted by elizardbits at 6:55 AM on July 18, 2012


I have never heard of adhesive bandages being called "plasters." Thanks, Metafilter!
posted by hellphish at 8:48 AM on July 18, 2012


Even in Polish.
posted by pracowity at 10:41 AM on July 18, 2012


The Chameleon Bandage is a great concept that may not see production for many years, but would offer a huge advance over the awkward four-color choices of this bandage. But the single-color Band-aids that I remember from my youth were just flat out racist.
posted by fredludd at 11:21 AM on July 18, 2012


They showed me a cartoon of altering the bandaid's shape (sorry, I'm American, and the use of "plaster" confused me until I saw the vid). I still don't know how easy it is to tear; most of the bandaids in my house are designed to resist tearing, so I'm picturing a tugging war in my head... while bleeding.

The "turns color when infected" is a fantastic idea, however.
posted by IAmBroom at 11:35 AM on July 18, 2012


I certainly can't see prepping and applying one of these while while wearing exam gloves.
posted by klarck at 2:27 PM on July 18, 2012


My mom tried that Nu-Skin stuff on me when I was about 12 -- I'd done a huge surface abrasion on the front of my right upper leg, too large for easy bandaging, but nowhere near serious enough to need a doctor's visit.

That stuff hurt so bad. I cried my head off for about five minutes. My mom didn't know it would hurt, so I didn't blame her in the least, but it was so shocking and unexpected for a supposedly medical product to hurt that intensely. I was expecting it to feel better after being sprayed, not like someone poured acid on it. As a kid, I absolutely refused to have that stuff anywhere near me, ever again. Even as an adult, I would never use it on a child without some kind of pain-numbing spray first. That stuff is much too painful to be used on children without anesthetic. And I'd really rather not use it on an adult, either. Like, say, me. I'd use it if I had to, but unless I had an excellent topical painkiller available, it would be an absolute last resort.
posted by Malor at 4:28 PM on July 18, 2012


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