Smart Bandages: Revolutionizing Wound Treatment!!

 

Chronic wounds, which include cuts, scrapes, burns, and other types of wounds that do not heal on their own, are a significant burden on healthcare systems worldwide, costing billions of dollars each year. These wounds are particularly problematic for people with diabetes, whose bodies can have difficulty healing. However, a new kind of Smart Bandage developed at Caltech could make treating chronic wounds easier, more effective, and less expensive.

This unique bandage is made of a flexible and stretchy polymer that contains electronics and medication. Unlike traditional bandages, which are typically made of absorbent materials, the smart bandage can monitor the wound's conditions, such as pH level or temperature, and detect molecules like lactate or uric acid that indicate inflammation or infection.

The bandage's embedded electronics allow it to send real-time data wirelessly to a nearby computer, tablet, or smartphone for review by a medical professional or the patient. Additionally, the bandage can deliver medication stored within it directly to the wound site to treat inflammation and infection or apply a low-level electrical field to stimulate tissue growth for faster healing.

In laboratory tests on animals, the smart bandage showed the ability to offer speed healing of chronic wounds similar to those found in humans. However, researchers note that further studies are needed to improve the bandage's stability and test it on larger chronic wounds, which have different therapeutic needs.

Wei Gao,
Assistant Professor, Willens Scholar, and HMRI Investigator at Caltech; Associate Editor of Science Advances

The research was led by Wei Gao, assistant professor of medical engineering and a Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigator at Caltech. The team received funding from several sources, including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Heritage Medical Research Institute.  According to Dr. Wei Gao, “The device consists of two parts – one reusable flexible printed circuit board and one disposable patch, The disposable patch contains biosensors, electrodes, and drug-loaded hydrogels, All the signals can be wirelessly sent to a user interface such as a computer or a cellphone, We can wirelessly control the drug release by applying electrical potential."

The smart bandage is equipped with an electro-responsive drug release system and an electrical stimulation therapeutic module to facilitate cell motility and proliferation. The combination therapy enabled substantially accelerated chronic wound healing in a rodent model.

The potential for this technology to improve the treatment of chronic wounds is significant. Chronic wounds are a significant burden on healthcare systems and represent a $25 billion financial burden in the United States alone each year. The development of a smart bandage that can detect and treat wounds effectively could significantly reduce healthcare costs and improve patients' quality of life.

Source:

 https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/smart-bandages-monitor-wounds-and-provide-targeted-treatment

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-022-01528-3

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqScwWSJb74/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link