Kids for Earth

After surgery, surgeons have two options for closing the incision: biodegradable stitches or metal staples. The stitches make for a better-looking scar and don’t have to be removed later, but with them it takes longer to sew up a patient, increasing the risk of infection or complications under the anesthesia.

Private medical-instrument maker Incisive Surgical has designed a device that it calls a skin stapler, but I’d say it’s closer to a handheld sewing machine. The device grabs skin from both sides of the incision and inserts a biodegradable staple through both flaps of skin.