Researchers in Singapore have developed a smart bandage to enable people to have chronic wounds monitored remotely via an app on a mobile device, potentially saving them from visiting a doctor.
A research team at the National University of Singapore has created a wearable sensor attached to a transparent bandage to track progress in healing, using information such as temperature, bacteria type, pH and inflammation.
“Traditionally, when someone has a wound or ulcer, if it’s infected, the only way to examine it is through looking at the wound itself, through visual inspection,” said Chwee Teck Lim (林水德), lead researcher at the university’s Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Photo: Reuters
“If the clinician wants to have further information then they will obtain the wound fluid and send to the lab for further testing,” Lim said.
“So what we’re trying to do is use our smart bandage to cut the number of hours or days to just a few minutes,” he said.
‘VECARE’
The “VeCare” technology would enable people to convalesce more at home and visit a doctor only if necessary.
The bandage is being tested on patients with chronic venous ulcers, or leg ulcers caused by circulation problems in veins.
Data collection by researchers on the wounds has so far been effective, said Lim, who added that the smart bandage could potentially be used for other wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers.
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