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New ‘smart’ bandage can tell whether a wound has healed

The ‘smart bandage’ contains a sensor that can measure wound moisture levels and is designed to then transmit the data to a nearby smartphone, instead of removing the bandage.

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woman holds in hand a white elastic bandage for the body, gray background

By Georgia Lambert via SWNS

A new ‘smart' bandage can tell whether a wound has healed.

Doctors have always been faced with the problem of not knowing when a dressed wound has healed without taking off the dressing.

That can disrupt the healing process if it is removed too soon.

Now a promising new technology offers a plaster solution to the conundrum.

Researchers at the University of Bologna in Italy are the first to develop a bandage that can wirelessly transmit information on how moist a wound is, which happens to be a key indicator in the healing process.

The ‘smart bandage’ contains a sensor that can measure wound moisture levels and is designed to then transmit the data to a nearby smartphone, instead of removing the bandage.

By changing the size and materials in the bandage, the researchers hope that they will be able to finely tune the technology to suit different types of wounds in the future.

Chronic wounds can be disabling for those who suffer from them and getting them to heal is another story.

Many factors are considered when wounds are healing, such as temperature, glucose levels, and acidity.

However, one of the most important factors in wound healing is moisture levels. Too dry, and the tissue can become desiccated.

But if it’s too wet, the skin becomes white and wrinkly, which is why finding a happy medium is so important.

Currently, if a clinician needs to check the moisture levels of a wound, they would have no choice but to remove the bandage, which could potentially tear the delicate healing skin.

The issues inspired the ‘smart bandage’, as a way of monitoring wound moisture levels non-invasively.

For the research team, the choice of materials was a challenge to figure out, as bandages need to be biocompatible, disposable, and inexpensive.

To achieve the right material, the researchers applied a conductive polymer called poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT: PSS) onto a gauze using screen printing and then mixed the gauze with commercially available bandage materials.

Study author Dr. Marta Tessarolo said: “PEDOT: PSS is an organic semiconducting polymer that can be easily deposited on several substrates as a standard ink.

“We also incorporated a cheap, disposable, and bandage-compatible RFID tag, similar to those used for clothing security tags, into the textile patch.

"The tag can wirelessly communicate moisture level data with a smartphone, allowing healthcare staff to know when a bandage needs to be changed.”

To test their bandages, the researchers exposed different bandage materials and shapes against the liquid that seeps from wounds.

They found that the bandage was highly sensitive and provided drastically different readings between dry, moist, and saturated conditions, which suggested it could be a valuable tool in chronic wound care management.

Co-author Dr. Luca Possanzini added: “We developed a range of bandages with various layers and different absorption properties and characteristics.

“The idea is that each type of wound could have its own appropriate dressing, from slowly exuding wounds to highly exuding wounds, such as burns and blisters.

“However, we will need to further optimize the sensor geometry and determine the appropriate sensor values for optimal healing, before we can apply our technology to various types of wounds.”

The findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Physics.

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