The University of Southampton

Author: Lucy McRae

E-Skin: The future of AI is touchable

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The lecture on sensors fascinated me as to what extent technology could assist in understanding the human body.
This led me to research which took this a step further – not just sensing the body’s status but also healing it!

Chronic non healing wounds are a major issue affecting many people across the world.

The money spent on chronic wounds continues to rise in correlation with its reoccurring presence in the growing population.

There are a multitude of treatments available for chronic wounds, but they all have their own flaws in relation to optimised healing.

For example, skin grafts have been used for many years. Although I think these are a viable form of treatment, the necessity of surgery for therapy of the wound is an aspect I believe recent medical advancements should have overcome. Therefore, my discovery of new advancements was of interest to me!

New Advancements!

A new scientific treatment has created electronic skin! This is a bioelectronic system that not only monitors the wound through sensors, but also helps provide treatment through “anti-inflammatory antimicrobial treatment and electrically stimulated tissue regeneration”.

Image of electronic sensor on skin
Available at: [https://jpralves.net/img/2018/07/CT167_SmartBandagesDesignedToMonitor.jpg] (Accessed: 20/03/25).

E-skin has continued to develop since its initial creation, with the technology now having the potential to overcome the tactile sensors of our own skin – with developments furthering sensitivity and receptor density, and response time.

For example, a circuit which is elastic both electrically and mechanically using stretchable interconnects has been produced.

AI Skin

Notably, further studies have discovered the benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered electronic skin.

AI algorithms help extend the limits of signal saturation – an issue which limits the current technology as the sensors can only manage low concentrations.

These machine learning techniques will ultimately improve sensor performance, creating an even more effective human-like skin!

Ethics…

Many people feel uncomfortable with the increasing presence of AI. This is particularly of worry when considering wearing AI daily! Concerns include privacy issues due to long-term monitoring, and mistakes which can occur in AI.

Despite the benefits of AI in E-skins having been proved significant, many people may question is it worth it?

I think I would be conflicted between the invasive process of already established treatment methods such as skin grafts, and the unknown which comes with AI usage. The potential for AI skin to be more sensitive than our own is a concept I think would sway me towards using this new technology. I think the use of E-skin is a promising advancement which may help many people!

Would you feel comfortable with AI powered skin?

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If electronic bandages interests you, another route scientists have taken is bandages which indicate wounds before they’ve happened! The video explains further…

Captions are available.

Grow your own Mini Liver

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Significance of Tissue Engineering

Whilst protheses are a good mechanism to improve patient quality of life and aid daily function, there remain limitations in which they may not fulfil the needs of the patient.

  • They can only provide limited forms of support, meaning they are not appropriate for use with many medical issues
  • Requires replacement on a timely basis
  • Body often rejects them due to foreign material

Living biological materials may be better suited to meet medical needs – introducing the need for tissue engineering.

Following discussion on the limits of prosthesis, I thought about what biological materials would be structured for longevity in the body.

The Regenerative Nature of the Liver

The liver is the only organ which can regenerate damaged tissue – the organ has the ability to regrow around two thirds of the healthy cells. In line with this, reading led to me an ongoing trial which acts to use the regenerative nature of liver cells in order to help those suffering from end-stage liver disease.

Growing Mini Livers

The emerging medical experimental treatment is titled “Allogenic Hepatocyte Transplantation Into Periduodenal Lymph Nodes”

This entails the use of Hepatocytes, the cells which make up the majority of the liver, which are also allogenic cells, which are sourced from human tissue donors. Using these to try to successfully create an engraftment into the lymph nodes essentially aims to create functioning mini livers in the body!

The purpose of the trial is to help patients diagnosed with end-stage liver disease.

The main objectives of the trial are listed as:

Dosage

Confirming the optimal dose of hepatocytes for the engraftment

Safety

Ensuring the transplantation is safe in the case of any adverse effects

Efficiency

Confirming the engraftments are reducing symptoms of end-stage liver disease

Should we grow Mini Livers?

It is likely that participants will have to take immunosuppressants, as they would for other transplants, to help reduce chance of rejection.

I think that despite the participants potentially having to alter their lifestyle, if the trial is successful than benefits of the treatment would outweigh potential side effects. As end-stage liver disease can cause decreased life expectancy, treatment which counters this should be approached positively. I also believe the treatment would be significant because:

  • There is a shortage of liver transplants so treatment may not be feasible
  • Increasing liver mass through the transplantation of hepatocyte may be notably beneficial to those with end-stage liver disease
Graph showing the exponential rise of mortality in the population for liver disease, in comparison to other major disease which have plateued.

Liver disease is the only major disease in which mortality rates are rapidly increasing

Figure 1: The increase in mortality rates of major diseases

Available at: [https://www.alcoholpolicy.net/2014/10/liver-disease-profiles-highlight-alcohols-role-in-premature-deaths.html] (Accessed: 10/03/25)

I think this trial is significant due to the provision it seeks to give for a widening gap between life expectancy in comparison to other diseases. Whilst many other major diseases have shown decreases in mortality, liver disease has worsened rather than improved alongside other medical advances. I believe the implementation of new treatments is essential to address the imbalance between fatalities of liver disease in comparison to others.

Also, the idea of being able to have lots of mini livers is fascinating!