In MIT, they came up with a kirigami-bandage that repeats the bends of the joints and does not fall down.

Elastic bandage kirigami can serve as a platform for wearable electronics, allows you to enter drugs into the body

On the elbow and knee joints is very difficult to impose a bandage. Even if everything is done correctly, after several cycles of flexion-extension, the bandage slips. In addition, the usual fabric of any type after a few hours causes the skin known inconvenience. Now MIT engineers have tried to find a new solution, and they seem to have succeeded .

The basis of this decision is Kirigami, the Japanese art of making figurines with scissors. In origami, the paper is only folded without using a knife or scissors. So, MIT developed a new type of bandage, which, due to cuts on the surface, can withstand more than 100 flexion-extension cycles. The secret is the location of the longitudinal cuts relative to each other.

The researchers attached a “film kirigami” to the volunteer's knee and found that each time the knee was bent, the usual film could not withstand the load. But the “film kirigami” copes with this perfectly, withstanding not only stretching, but also compression. In order to show the potential of the film, the group has created a real bandage. A variety of miniature sensors can be fixed on its surface, which can be useful both in sports and in hospitals.
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According to the developers, the idea of ​​using Kirigs to create this kind of bandages expands their use. “Now, if we talk about electronics, people attach devices to places with a slight deformation. But where the deformation is stronger, usually nothing is placed. I think that kirigami is a solution that allows the use of wearable electronics even to those places where it was not previously used, ”said the representative of the development team Ryuke Jiao.

The results of their work, scientists have published in the authoritative medical publication Soft Matter.

Work began on the creation of the film Kirigs in August 2016. Then the team of researchers received a task from their Chinese colleagues to create an improved version of the pain relieving bandage. The Chinese company made and sold such bandages, but was not too pleased with their limited functionality.

“They are fairly widespread, especially in China, but if you try to fasten them on the elbow or knee joints, the bandage will very quickly cease to perform its functions and just fall off,” say the developers of the flexible bandage. "This is a huge problem for the company, and she asked her to solve it."

Almost from the very beginning, the developers decided to try Kirigs as a potential solution to the problem. The art of Kirigs has been developing for several centuries, and allows you to create from paper the most complex shapes that cannot be done with the use of origami. It was this idea that was decided to take as a basis. As it turned out, Kirigami improves not only the flexibility of the source material, but also allows it to be better fixed on the surface of the arm or leg.

The test versions of the bandage were printed on a 3D printer, which made it possible to create a bandage of any shape and almost any size. The film can be made from conventional polymers and from metal. Experts conducted tests with bending, stretching and compression of the material. It turned out that bending with “kirigami film” withstands much better than usual.



After a lot of tests, scientists have found almost ideal for bandage. Scientists have already filed a patent application, which is pending. They also continue to cooperate with the Chinese company, from the task of which the project started. According to company representatives, in the same China, bandages that relieve pain (for example, from stretching) are very popular, so the authors of the idea hope to popularize the development.

The development itself may not seem too significant in comparison with, for example, bionic prostheses. But the advantage of “film-kirigami” is that it is made from a special polymer that can be used to inject drugs into the human body through the skin. Bandages can be of any shape, and they can be used for a wide range of tasks in different areas - from sports, to, as already mentioned, medical.