Smart bandages could one day monitor and medicate chronic injuries
Most bandages protect, but there are a lot of new bandages coming onto the market that also accelerate healing.
Key takeaways
- Taking the form of an electronic skin-adhered patch, the dressing is being developed at the California Institute of Technology by a team led by Asst.
- Mounted on top of that substrate is a small, flexible printed circuit board which contains electronics such as a battery, Bluetooth chip, and temperature sensor.
- A paper on the research was recently published in the journal Science Advances.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2023) 'Smart bandages could one day monitor and medicate chronic injuries', 311 Institute, 20 April. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/smart-bandages-could-one-day-monitor-and-medicate-chronic-injuries/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
If left untreated, chronic wounds such as diabetic skin ulcers can become infected, ultimately leading to amputations or even death. And now a first of a kind experimental "smart bandage” that’s designed to help keep that from happening, by both watching and treating such injuries, has been unveiled.
Taking the form of an electronic skin-adhered patch, the dressing is being developed at the California Institute of Technology by a team led by Asst. Prof. Wei Gao.
It incorporates a flexible, stretchable, biocompatible polymer substrate, on the underside of which is an array of sensory electrodes, a pair of voltage-modulated electrodes, and a layer of drug-loaded hydrogel. Mounted on top of that substrate is a small, flexible printed circuit board which contains electronics such as a battery, Bluetooth chip, and temperature sensor.
Once applied directly to a wound site, the bandage continuously uses its sensors to check the concentration of chemicals like uric acid, ammonium, glucose and lactate – plus it checks for changes in the wound's pH and temperature – all of which are indicators of infection or inflammation.
If any such indicators are detected, the bandage responds by sending an alert to a nearby smartphone or other device. It also uses its voltage-modulated electrodes – a form of bioelectronic medicine - to trigger the release of medication from the hydrogel, and to deliver a low-voltage electrical current to the wound bed, stimulating the regrowth of new tissue.
In lab tests performed on rats, the technology proved to be successful at accurately relaying wound-status data, killing harmful bacteria such as E. coli, and at speeding the healing of chronic wounds similar to diabetic skin ulcers. Plans now call for human trials to be conducted.
"We have showed this proof of concept in small animal models, but down the road, we would like to increase the stability of the device but also to test it on larger chronic wounds because the wound parameters and microenvironment may vary from site to site," said Gao.
A paper on the research was recently published in the journal Science Advances.
Source: Caltech
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Why does this matter?
Most bandages protect, but there are a lot of new bandages coming onto the market that also accelerate healing.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
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Sources and further reading
- Sciadv.adf7388 science.org
- Smart bandages monitor wounds and provide targeted treatment caltech.edu
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 20 April 2023. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2023). Smart bandages could one day monitor and medicate chronic injuries. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/smart-bandages-could-one-day-monitor-and-medicate-chronic-injuries/
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