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Revolutionizing Wound Care: The Future of Smart Bandages
Researchers at Caltech, led by Professor Wei Gao, are developing a groundbreaking smart bandage designed to function as a “lab on skin.” This innovative technology aims to support both patients and healthcare providers in monitoring chronic wounds while also delivering treatments that can enhance the healing process for various types of injuries, including cuts, incisions, scrapes, and burns, which often heal slowly.
In a significant breakthrough in 2023, Gao’s team demonstrated that their newly-created smart bandage could yield real-time insights into chronic wounds in animal models. Additionally, it was shown to accelerate healing through the strategic application of medications or electrical fields that encourage tissue regeneration.
Building on this success, Gao, along with collaborators from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, achieved another milestone with their enhanced bandage, named iCares. This advanced bandage successfully sampled interstitial fluid from 20 human patients suffering from chronic wounds caused by conditions such as diabetes and poor circulation. The team also investigated additional patients both pre-operation and post-operation to further validate their findings.
The iCares bandage is equipped with three microfluidic components, which are intricate modules designed to manage and control liquid flow. This feature allows the bandage to remove excess moisture from the wound while simultaneously collecting real-time data on relevant biomarkers present in the wound environment.
Gao explained, “Our cutting-edge microfluidics not only remove moisture from wounds, which is vital for healing, but they also ensure that the fluid samples analyzed are fresh and not a blend of old and new fluids. Accurate measurements depend on accessing only the latest fluid from the wound site. This enables iCares to continuously monitor crucial biomarkers related to inflammation and infection.”
According to recent research published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the smart bandage is capable of identifying critical molecules like nitric oxide, which indicates inflammation, and hydrogen peroxide, a marker of infection. Remarkably, these indicators can be detected one to three days prior to the onset of noticeable symptoms for the patient.
In addition, the research team has developed a sophisticated machine-learning algorithm that can categorize the wounds of patients and predict healing timelines with an accuracy similar to that of experienced healthcare professionals.
The iCares bandage is constructed from a flexible, biocompatible polymer strip that can be produced at a low cost through 3D printing. It features a nanoengineered biomarker sensor array, designed for single-use and hygienic applications. The system incorporates a reusable printed circuit board, which is responsible for signal processing and wirelessly transmitting data to user-friendly interfaces such as smartphones. The microfluidic triad of the iCares bandage consists of a membrane that extracts fluid from the wound surface, a bioinspired component that transports the fluid to the sensor array for analysis, and a micropillar module that directs the sampled fluid outside of the bandage.
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