Imagine a bandage that will report to a Doctor via 5G wireless on how well a wound being covered is healing. Swansea University in the United Kingdom will begin trials inside of the next year on this so-called smart bandage. Besides using next-gen wireless service to send reports on the wound to healthcare professionals, the bandages employ nano-sensors to track any improvements in the injury.

With the information from the bandages, doctors will be able to monitor a wound and recommend a treatment plan based on how well it is healing. Doctors will also be able to track how active the injured person is. Wounds typically heal faster when the patient is exercising and blood is circulating near the injury.

“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,” explains Marc Clement, professor and chairman of the Institute of Life Science (ILS).

While nanotech experts would produce the sensors that “read” changes in the wound, the actual bandage would be made using a 3D printer to save money. Professor Clement said that there are 1 million people at the Welsh Wound Innovation Center who can help the school carry out tests.

Source: BBC via Engadget