In Brief:
- Smart bandages can detect how well a wound is healing.
- Sensors fitted into dressings can spot infections and blood clotting
- The plaster could also connect to a smartphone to track other health concerns.
Smart bandages can detect the healing process of a wound, how well it is healing and send messages back to the doctor. This will be trialled within the next year, scientists have said.
Tiny sensors fitted into the dressings that can spot infections, pick up blood clots and send back data to the patient’s doctor. It could also connect to a smartphone to track other health concerns- such as diet – that might hinder the healing process.
The new technology is set to undergo clinical trials by Swansea University within the next 12 months. With the help of technology, clinicians would be given information about the performance of the specific wound at any specific time and can then tailor the treatment protocol to the individual and wound in question.
Traditional medicine is where a clinician might see a patient and then prescribe treatment approach for a month or 3 months. Future medicine is a world where there’s the ability to vary the treatment to the individual, the lifestyle and the pattern of life.
The system of medicine is reversed so much that we tell them all is well, but all the evidence is there before them in this 5G world, so the clinician and patient can work together to address the challenge.
The next step is aimed at making those dressings at an affordable cost for the health service. It is designed to give an early warning of injuries from burns or scalds going septic under dressing- and it hoped the dressing will save the NHS money.
Previous studies have shown that plasters and bandages could soon be fitted with the shells of crabs to help cuts and scrapes heal faster.
The key ingredient in the dressing material is Chitosan- found in crustacean shells. It is well known for its healing properties as well as tis ability to kill bacteria and has been used in china to treat battle wounds for centuries.
The dressing uses nano-technology to sense the state of the wound at any specific time. It would connect that wound to a 5G infrastructure through your telephone will also know other things about you such as – how active you are at a specific time.
All these combined technology would enable the clinician to tailor the treatment protocol to the individual and wound in question.