Burn victims are just a few of the injured who may now see their wounds heal faster with less scarring, thanks to a new technique designed by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Dr. Elof Erikkson, a professor of surgery at the Medical School and chief of plastic surgery at Brigham and Women's, is now testing a new technique of treating open wounds on humans.

The experimental treatment can cut healing time by at least one half and may be more effective than surgery, Erikkson said.

"The overall goal is to gain better control of the would healing process," he said.

Erikkson said he hopes to develop sufficient control over the healing process to be able to slow it down or speed it up.

"The technique," he said, "speeds healing and appears to reduce scarring."

Erikkson said scarring can restrict motion in the arms, the legs or even the shoulders, making it as serious a problem as the wound itself.

The treatment is used for chronic wounds which cannot be healed by conventional methods--such as plastic surgery--or wounds with unusually long healing times. It cannot be used to treat surgical wounds.

Erikkson said that at any given time about one to three percent of people have a chronic wound. Chronic wounds, such as a severe burn, cannot heal without treatment.

The new treatment, according to Erikkson, is "not for everybody." Older people and those suffering from disease like diabetes, which slow the healing process, will benefit most from the new technique, Erikkson said.

The treatment works by using a small, sealed transparent chamber, called an incubator, that is glued to the wound.

The incubator contains a nutrient-rich fluid with a ready-made growth factor which Erikkson said acts like "cell-feed." The wound heals faster because the fluid helps the cells fight infection, while the incubator protects the wound from external harm.

The incubator can remain attached to the wound for up to five days, when the fluid must be replaced with fresh media. Patients continue to wear the incubator until the wound has healed completely.

According to Erikkson, experiments show that the incubators could be worn for as little as two or three days or for as long as nine weeks. More severe wounds require that the incubator be attached for longer times.

Incubators are new being tested on a group of about 20 people, Erikkson said.