Soft, wireless electronic dressing system for wound analysis and biophysical therapy

Advances in wearable technology promise effective strategies to improve the management of patients, particularly systematic wound monitoring tools combined with wireless therapeutic stimulation provide medical and allied health professions with unprecedented insight for inpatients/outpatients beyond traditional nursing environments. Here, we introduce a soft, wireless electronic wound dressing system that can offer both real-time monitoring of wound status, and biophysical therapy for acceleration of wound repairing rates, in a completely integrated form. Synthetic hydrogel-based sensor responds to a biochemical marker (i.e., cathepsin) released from the inflammatory reaction, while electronic sensor arrays collect humidity, pH, and temperature related to the healing process. Miniaturized circuit components serve wireless measurements via Bluetooth interfaces and provide programmed patterns of electrical/optical stimulations that can promote the recovery of damaged tissues. In vivo demonstrations illustrate capabilities of systematic medical care in freely behaving mice, thereby suggesting potential for use in advanced medic-free wound managements.