A study of skin wound healing in 40 (human) volunteers has found that electrical stimulation significantly speeds up the healing process. The researchers hope to now develop and test dressings and devices that could be used in treatment of human or veterinary surgical wounds, sports injuries, and other serious skin trauma.

Participants in the study were inflicted with two identical wounds on each arm. One arm's wounds were left to heal normally while the other's were treated with tiny electrical shocks on four occasions over a two-week period. The electrical pulses stimulated a process called angiogenesis, which results in the formation of new blood vessels and increased blood flow to the damaged area. Wounds treated with electrical stimulation had a significantly smaller surface area, volume, diameter, and depth than those left to heal normally – they healed faster than normal, essentially.

The University of Manchester team that carried out the study has now partnered with a company called Oxford BioElectronics on a five-year project to develop technology to stimulate the same response in real-world clinical practice. It's believed that the work could transform how skin wounds are managed and treated.