Show off your twisted sense of humor with Boo-Boos band-aids! Take your pick between a number of utterly disgusting designs including a laceration, chemical burn, gunshot wound and of course, a maggot infestation. They’re sure to make your booboos look so much worse than they are… and if they don’t, a trip to the ER is probably in order.
Quite recently I had a massive fall and busted open my knee. The wound was deep, wide and the kinds that cannot be stitched. I have to admit, that I am ticked at the primitive ways my wounds are dressed. It’s the same old sterile gauze and cotton with Hydrogen Peroxide and Anti-bacterial ointments. I could do with the funky styling of the HexSkin, which is a nurturing bandage that dissolves over the skin. It provides meds and a faster healing process.
- Yanko Design Timeless Designs - Explore wonderful concepts from around the world! Shop CKIE - We are more than just concepts. See what's hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design! (The HexSkin was originally posted on Yanko Design)
Designed for patients who must self-inject, like hemophiliacs and diabetics, Easy Aid makes the process of tending the post-puncture area easier. Unlike standard bandaids, the design is almost effortless to use thanks to its gasket design which allows users to quickly pinpoint and place the bandage then pinch off the cover with one hand and in one simple motion! Check out the vid to see how it works —>
Designer: Pei-Chih Deng
- Yanko Design Timeless Designs - Explore wonderful concepts from around the world! Shop CKIE - We are more than just concepts. See what's hot at the CKIE store by Yanko Design! (One-Handed Bandaid was originally posted on Yanko Design)
If you’ve played any of the Mass Effect games, then you’re familiar with the series’ Medi-gel. It’s a potent salve that instantly cures wounds and restores health, regardless of the source of the damage. It can even be administered remotely! It does have one crucial flaw: it’s not real. But two college students from NYU-Poly have invented something similar to this miraculous substance.
The product is called Veti-gel, a plant-based gel that can stop bleeding and hasten blood clotting, supposedly regardless of the size of the wound. It was invented by Joe Landolina and Kenny Mai, two junior college students at New York University. In fact, in 2011 Landolina and Mai were still calling their invention Medi-gel. I don’t know why they changed it though.
Tech News Daily spoke with Landolina and reports that the gel “jump-starts the clotting and healing process so quickly that even wounds to internal organs or major arteries are able to close up instantaneously.” Landolina was even quoted as saying, “One of my other colleagues … he went to a bonfire. One of his friends fell into the fire and got second-degree burns. He put the gel on, and the next day is [sic] was healed[.]“
Apparently the gel’s plant-based polymers turn themselves into a replica of an animal tissue component known as the Extracellular Matrix or ECM. The ECM has many functions, one of which is related to healing wounds. Once applied, Veti-gel forms a tight seal around the wound and helps with clotting and healing. In the short video below, Veti-gel is applied on a 3″ incision is made on a piece of raw pork loin that’s been pumped full of blood. Aside from being very gross, the video also shows how fast the gel does its job.
Because we live in an amazing world, it doesn’t surprise me that there are already substances similar to Veti-gel. One is called QuikClot and the other is called Floseal. But according to Tech News Daily QuikClot requires that you apply pressure over the wound for several minutes, whereas Veti-gel can fly solo. Floseal on the other hand is partly made from bovine gelatin. Veti-gel is made from plants, which are not as adorable as cows and oxen and thus can be harvested without remorse. Just kidding. Kind of.
But don’t be reckless when you’re assaulting the Reapers just yet because Veti-gel is still in development. Also because there are no Reapers. Landolina and Mai have started a company called Suneris to further work on and market their invention. Maybe these geniuses can make the Omni-tool real as well.
A while back we saw some innovative bandages which could be adjusted to fit a variety of wounds and skin colors. While these were great for carrying around in your bag, they might not fit each and every injury with precision. That’s where the Band-Aid Printer comes in.
This conceptual gadget is designed for use in hospitals and first aid rooms, and would automatically print custom bandages based on the specific needs of the patient. It’s designers Han Like, Liu Peng, Ren Mingjun, Wei Chenjie, Yang Xiao and Liu Peng of EVENdesign say that it would be a “quasi-3D printer”, but to me it looks more like some sort of custom vinyl cutter.
Another innovation of the Band-Aid printer would be the ability to alter the pigment of the bandages to blend in with the skin tone of the patient. The concept model shown here would print small bandages, but there’s no reason the concept couldn’t be applied to a larger format printer as well.
Like many cool inventions, the Band-Aid printer is still just an idea at this point, but it was a recent recipient of the reddot design award, which should give it some publicity in front of potential manufacturers and licensees.
I never thought that those membranes on the inside of an eggshell were good for anything, except if you’re a chick inside an egg. Now it turns out that egg membranes can be used as natural bandages. That being said, you’ll need to keep a dozen eggs handy whenever you do anything dangerous.
A National Institute of Health study found that egg membranes could make an ideal covering for skin graft dressings, due to the egg membranes properties of wound protection, pain relief, and the promotion of infection-free healing. And the guys at Tips on Food Storage say you can use the membranes to quickly stop bleeding from a would too. In order to use this method, you’ll have to carefully peel the egg membrane out of the egg, after having cracked an egg, and poured out the egg white and yolk. Apply the membrane to the wound and keep pressure on it until it hardens, and you can get proper stitches and wound dressing from a medical professional.
I think that plasters and bandages are probably more handy and sterile than plain old eggs, but it makes you wonder if they weren’t used in the past as bandages as well.
Don’t remember what happened last night? That’s probably because it didn’t end very well. But aside from having to deal with your scrapes and bruises, the biggest problem you have to deal with is your parents (if you’re still young) or your significant other (if you’re already married.) But what better way to rattle off your excuses than by bandage?
Each ‘What Happened Last Night?’ tin contains 25 excuses bandages to cover up any boo-boos and explain what happened in the process.
I don’t think kids will really get the concept of these bandages and I doubt you’d want to give these to them anyways (one of the band-aids say ‘beer-related incident.’)
These hilarious bandages are available from the Fancy for $15 (USD).
Remember the Chameleon Bandage that changes color to match your skin tone once you stuck it on? It was definitely an interesting concept, although a difficult one to execute.
Another novel bandage design that actually has the potential to become an actual product is the AmoeBAND, designed by Tay Pek-Khai, Hsu Hao-Ming, Tsai Cheng-Yu, Chen Kuei-Yuan, Chen Yi-Ting, Lai Jen-Hao, Ho Chia-Ying, Chen Ying-shan, Weng Yu-Ching, and Chung Kuo-Ting.
The design of the AmoeBAND increases the bandages effectiveness and ups the comfort level for the users because of strategically placed cut-outs on the plasters. If you’ve ever used a bandage on your finger (I’m sure you have), then you might’ve noticed that it’s particularly hard to stick the bandaid on just right so that your digit’s movements won’t be limited. The same bandage can be used for flat areas, joints or fingertips.
Aside from increased flexibility, the AmoeBAND’s come in four shades to match your skintone. It’s like finding a shade of concealer just right for your skin (girls can relate to this), only better, because you don’t really expect this kind of choice to come with bandaids.
The AmoeBAND comes in matchbox-type boxes that dispense the bandages with a quick push. And it seems like the designers through of everything, because the boxes are even labeled in Braille. It’s also a finalist for the 2012 IDEA Award.
I’ll say one thing: bandages patch cuts up pretty quickly and easily, but they sure aren’t the most visually appealing things. If you’re the shallow type who cares a lot about your looks, then you might find this concept design quite interesting. Presenting… the Chameleon Bandage!
It’s everything vain people would want in a bandage, and more. It looks like a regular Band-Aid at the outset, but once you stick it on, its shade slowly changes until it eventually matches the color of your skin, concealing both the bandage and your wound or cut effectively.
I suppose some sort of mysterious chemical elements on the Chameleon Bandage gives it its awesome camouflaging properties, although the designers behind it, namely Xue Xing Wu, Zi Yu Li, Yue Hua Zhu, and Zhi Qiang Wang haven’t provided any details regarding this. Go figure.
The Chameleon Bandage is a 2012 iF Design Talents entry. I hope they win, because the concept is, frankly, pretty awesome. While there are already inexpensive see-through bandages on the market, there’s something inherently cooler about this idea.
Each ‘What Happened Last Night?’ tin contains 25 
It’s everything vain people would want in a bandage, and more. It looks like a regular Band-Aid at the outset, but once you stick it on, its shade slowly changes until it eventually matches the color of your skin, concealing both the bandage and your wound or cut effectively.