Short Description: Vytrina (Cytabond) is a reversible hydrogel adhesive designed for painless and secure cranial wound closure in pediatric patients. It combines strong adhesion under moisture with biocompatibility and gentle removal, reducing pain, hair loss, and infection risk while improving healing outcomes and patient comfort in neurosurgical and dermatologic procedures.
Lessons Learned: We initially believed the core problems were painful suture removal and existing glues that failed under tension, focusing primarily on surgical wound-closure clinicians. Through customer discovery, we learned the larger unmet need is a stronger, effective tissue adhesive that reduces irritation and infection and enables painless removal, expanding our focus to ECG/EEG & ICU/PICU leads.
Names and Affiliation of Team members:
Adeola Fagunloye, ELITE Fellow, University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, Penn Health Tech
Xinxiu Xu, Master’s Student, University of Pennsylvania, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Materials Science and Engineering