Smart plaster that tells doctors how you feel: Tiny sensors within bandages will detect infections and blood clotting before reporting back to medics

Smart bandages that can detect how well a wound is healing and send messages back to the doctor will be trialled within the next year, scientists have said.

Tiny sensors are fitted into the dressings that can spot infections, pick up blood clotting, and send data back to the patient’s doctor.

It could also connect to a smartphone in order to track other health concerns – such as diet – that could be hindering the healing process.

The new technology is to be trialled by Swansea University within the next 12 months.

Professor Marc Clement, chairman of the Institute of Life Science, said: ‘You combine all of that intelligence so the clinician knows 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 may be where a clinician might see a patient and then prescribe the treatment approach for a month or three months.

‘What the future holds is a world where there’s the ability to vary the treatment to the individual, the lifestyle and the pattern of life.

‘Sometimes we revere doctors so much that we tell them all is well but all of the evidence is there before them in this 5G world, so the clinician and patient can work together to address the challenge.’

Speaking to the BBC, he added: ‘The next thing is to make those dressings at a cost that is affordable for the health service.’

There are already clinical trials underway on smart bandages that glow bright yellow if the wound has been infected.

It is designed to give an early warning of injuries from burns or scalds going septic under dressing – and it is hoped the dressing will save the NHS money.

Existing methods of detecting infections can take up to 48 hours to come through – as well as removing wound dressings, which can be painful and distressing.

Last year, it was reported 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 is a mineral called chitosan found in crustacean shells.

It is known for its healing properties as well as its ability to kill bacteria and has been used in China to treat battle wounds for centuries.

Prof Clement said: ‘That intelligent dressing uses nano-technology to sense the state of that wound at any one specific time.

‘It would connect that wound to a 5G infrastructure and that infrastructure through your telephone will also know things about you – where you are, how active you are at any one time.

‘You combine all of that intelligence so the clinician knows the performance of the specific wound at any specific time and can then tailor the treatment protocol to the individual and wound in question.’