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New York, July 7: Researchers have developed a prototype bandage designed to actively monitor the condition of chronic wounds and administer appropriate drug treatments to improve the chances of recovery.
While lab-tested bandages remain to be evaluated in a clinical setting, one study, published in the journal Small, stated that the goal is to turn the bandage of a traditionally pbadive treatment into a more active paradigm for solving a problem. persistent and difficult problem. According to the researchers, chronic skin wounds caused by burns, diabetes and other medical problems can overwhelm the skin's regenerative capabilities and often lead to persistent infections and amputations
"We were able to new approach to dressings due to the emergence of flexible electronics, "said co-author Sameer Sonkusale, professor at Tufts University in the United States
. to pH probes and integrated temperature that follow the infection and inflammation.
They said that the pH of a chronic wound is one of the key parameters to monitor its progress. normal healers are between 5.5 and 6.5 while unhealing infected wounds can have a pH well above 6.5.
Temperature is also an important parameter, providing information on the level of infection. ; inflammation in and around the wound.
While the smart dressings in this study combine pH and temperature sensors, the team has also developed flexible sensors for oxygenation – another marker of the healing – which can be integrated into the dressing.
The inflammation could also be followed not only by heat but by specific biomarkers, the researchers said.
A microprocessor reads the sensor data and can release the drug at the request of its carriers by heating the gel.
The entire construction is attached to a clear medical tape to form a flexible bandage of less than 3 mm in thickness. The components have been selected to keep the dressing cheap and disposable, except for the microprocessor, which can be reused.
The researchers noted that smart dressings could provide real-time monitoring and treatment delivery with limited intervention of the patient or caregivers.
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