This connected dressing heals chronic wounds – Sciences

Tuft University imagined the prototype of a connected dressing capable of monitoring chronic wounds. The object must deliver the right dose of closed-circuit medication.

Researchers at Tuft University in Mbadachusetts, United States, unveiled the prototype of a new "smart" object: a connected dressing , able to heal a wound while regularly administering the required treatments.

On July 6, 2018, academics published their work in the journal Small presenting this "Smart Bandage" capable of supervising chronic wounds . In the summary of this article, the researchers note that these " constitute a major health problem and affect the lives of more than 25 million people in the United States ". Worldwide, chronic wounds are " the leading cause of non-traumatic limb amputation ."

Temperature and pH sensors

Observing that a wound has a dynamic environment, researchers have started from the observation that its " cure rate can be improved by the administration of therapies at the right time s". That's why they imagined this connected dressing, able to monitor in real time the place and administer treatments, closed circuit.

The Smart bandage, flexible like a conventional dressing, has temperature and pH sensors. As for the integrated system, to release doses of drug needed it is sensitive to stimuli. The researchers explain that it contains a hydrogel, which is loaded with heat-resistant drugs, as well as a flexible heating device.

A hydrogel and a heater

A microcontroller completes the dressing, in order to " to process the data measured by the sensors and program the drug release protocol . "

Sameer Sonkusale, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the university, participated in the writing of the study. " We have been able to adopt a new approach to dressings because of the emergence of flexible electronics. In fact, flexible electric has made possible many portable medical devices, but bandages have changed little since the early days of medicine. We are simply applying modern technology to an ancient art, hoping to improve the results of an insoluble problem "he explains.