A team of marine science students from Karachi University (KU) have made portable bandages from fish skin to treat burns on the spot.
According to the team members and their supervisor, fish skin was used to heal burn wounds since 1992 but a bandage hadn’t made until the KU students’ effort.
The project supervisor told shared that the fish-skin processed bandages, called Sanitatem, can be used on small-scale burns instead of topical creams.
The project was started two years back and currently, the team is working on its shelf life.
The students added that this innovation is unique because the design, methodology and end product are different. With the healing process taking just five days, the bandage does not need to be replaced. As the burn heals, the bandage starts to dry and also prevents scarring.
The four students – Minaal Fatima, Iqra Mansoor, Anushae Saeed, and Shahnoor Mehboob – said this is the first such portable bandage in Pakistan specifically to heal burns.
“Our project is all about the portability of fish-skin bandages. All other bandages are for wounds.”
Besides the processes involved in creating the bandage, the students also culture their own fish in the lab. One of the students said they have to take great care of the fish so that they don’t get any disease.
