A cost-efficient spring-powered dermatome to treat skin trauma

Dermatomes are devices for the procurement of skin grafts, which are essential for successful skin transplantation. Technologically advanced dermatomes, although effective at skin harvesting, are costly to maintain. Severe skin injury is a major public health problem in resource-limited settings, where most dermatomes are manual and yield poor-quality grafts. To address this issue, this paper presents a prototype dermatome with an oscillating blade and a thickness control module that has low operation and maintenance costs. A spiral torsion spring provides energy for blade oscillation. Preliminary tests on porcine skin revealed reliable procurement of homogeneous grafts but decreased thickness control accuracy for thin (<;0.45 mm) grafts. The operationally straightforward prototype holds promise for cutaneous reconstruction in austere medical environments.