Liquid bandage detects tissue oxygenation without the drawbacks of wired oximeters BOSTON -- In the first human clinical trial, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and surgeons at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have validated the practicality and accuracy of an oxygen-sensing liquid bandage that measures the concentration of oxygen in transplanted tissue. The trial, published in Science Advances, compared the performance of a novel, paint-on bandage made with phosphorescent materials to a wired tissue oximeter (ViOptix device) -- the current standard for monitoring tissue oxygenation -- in women undergoing breast reconstruction surgery after cancer. "Our trial showed that the transparent liquid bandage detected tissue oxygenation as well as the gold standard of an oximeter, which uses old technology, is uncomfortable for the patient, obstructs visual inspection of the tissue, and can give false readings based on lighting conditions and the patient's movements," says Conor L. Evans, PhD, the paper's senior author and a principal investigator at MGH's Wellman Center for Photomedicine. "The standalone bandage is a major advancement from a wired oximeter that restricts a patient's movements and is complicated to use."