Improved characterization of chronic wounds in RDEB
Ongoing| Project lead | Prof John McGrath |
| Organisation | King’s College London, London, UK |
| Partner organizations & collaborators | Co-Researchers: Dr Ciro Chiappini, Dr Mads Bergholt, Prof Jemima Mellerio Collaborator: Mölnlycke Health Care |
| Project budget | GBP 142,035.00 |
| Start date / Duration | 01. Sep 2022 / 30 months |
| Funder(s) / Co-Funder(s) | DEBRA UK |
| Research area | Symptom prevention & relief |
Project details
Short lay summary
This project offers a new approach to assessing wounds and wound healing interventions in the inherited blistering skin disease, recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB).
Ultimately, we wish to develop a bedside test to inform on whether a wound is healing or not, whether a biopsy is indicated (e.g., for cancer), or what might be the best dressing to apply to the wound to promote optimal wound healing.
Strategic relevance
Our project hopes to develop a new bedside tool which can use painless nanoneedle sampling to generate nanobiopsy material which can then be evaluated to generate data which give a better indication of whether SCC is present and whether a skin biopsy is needed or not. Thus, developing a bedside diagnostic tool will improve how EB healthcare teams evaluate and monitor wounds in people with RDEB.
The second goal is to be able to generate molecular data about wounds and how these are impacted by the application of certain dressings… Ultimately, we hope to be able to use this information to help EB healthcare teams and people with EB choose and apply the best dressings to help their wounds heal.
John McGrath