Wound management revolutionised by new smart bandage

Chronic wound healing can be impacted by various elements. These may include but are not limited to: Acidity, temperature, and glucose levels. The factor that is often considered the most important is moisture level because if the wound has too much moisture it will be wet and wrinkled, whereas too dry causes tissue to become desiccated. Either occurrence will have a negative effect on the healing process of the wound.

The smart bandage measures the moisture levels and sends the data to a phone close by which usurps the need for a professional to take off the bandage for assessment.

Researchers think that adjusting the geometry and materials of the product may allow them to be tailored for diverse types of wounds, which means monitoring the wound would be more successful. But finding the right material proved difficult because there are certain characteristics that are vital. They must be inexpensive, biocompatible, and disposable.
In the testing process, researchers exposed the bandage to the liquid that seeps from wounds. They found that the product was extremely sensitive and there were ‘drastically different’ readings between different moisture conditions.

Dr Marta Tessarolo, University of Bologna, said, “PEDOT:PS 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, like those used for clothing security tags, into the textile patch.”

Dr Luca Possanzini, one of the study’s authors, said “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 optimise the sensor geometry and determine the appropriate sensor values for optimal healing before we can apply our technology to various types of wounds.”