Roosa Salmi and Savannah Saye

Introduction

We found this article interesting, because we have gotten familiar with chronic wound care in previous clinical practices. We have noticed that there is a definite need for an innovative product that would help us treat a wound not only more gently but also more efficiently, and prevent it from becoming chronic. As the article points out, cleaning and dressing chronic wounds require a lot of time and attention from nursing staff, and this wound dressing would save a lot of resources. For example, bed-bound patients in nursing homes or even patients staying in intensive care units for longer periods of time may develop pressure ulcers. It seems that treating these with a smart bandage would be a potential option. This way, more resources are left for other, life sustaining nursing interventions. This smart wound dressing could also be used to dress surgical wounds and patients could monitor wound healing at home.

How does it work

Bandage functions through specialized fluorescent sensors that detect oxygen, glucose as well as pH levels. The pH level is important when evaluating the healing process. The pH level rises to 8 before falling to 5 or 6 when wound heals normally. However, when wound healing process starts to fail and becomes chronic the pH level alternates between 7 and 8. When certain substances appear in the wound fluid, sensors start glowing in certain color. Colors can be seen with UV lamps that are available in electronics stores.  Weaker and stronger changes in color can be recognized with the help of color scale informing nursing staff whether the pH level is permanently too high.

Use and safety

Future views

References