Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here. Sometimes a wound requires a bandage, But what if that bandage wasn't just a passive way to prevent infection. What if a bandage could play an active role in diagnosis and recovery. This idea that bandages can be smart is behind a new invention by a
team of engineers at Tufts University. The team developed a flexible bandage less than three millimeters thick that surround an eighth of an inch that actively monitors chronic wounds and then responds by delivering wound specific drug treatments to promote healing.
In a news release, co authors samirsan Kusl, a PhD and professor of electrical and Computer engineering at Tufts University School of Engineering, said, we've been able to take a new approach to bandages because of the emergence of flexible electronics. In fact, flexible electronics have made many wearable medical devices possible, but bandages have changed little since the beginnings of medicine.
We are simply applying modern technology to an ancient art and the hopes of improving outcomes for an intractable problem. The research, if successful in clinical settings, could transform the future of bandages. This could be an important advancement for people with chronic skin wounds that are difficult to heal, such as those arising from burns or diabetes. The smart bandages have pH and temperature sensors to measure the primary
markers of wound healing. The pH balance for optimal wound healing is a range from five point five to six point five, while wounds that are not healing will have a pach range above six point five. An elevated temperature at the wound site indicates inflammation is taking place and that a wound is also not healing. A separate bandage prototype made by the team also takes oxygenation into account,
signaling whether a wound is healing optimally. The real time data from the bandages sensors is read by a microprocessor that can then signal an on demand antibiotic release, creating a better environment four wounds to heal. The next step for Toughs University's smart bandages is to test them in a clinical setting and see how the concept stacks up against other smart bandages, including one designed by researchers at the University of Nebraska that uses a smartphone as the
remote control to deliver medication. Today's episode was written by Laurie L. Dove and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff has merch now. You can get phone cases, tope bags, and of course T shirts. Every purchase helps keep the show going and supports us directly. You can find all that stuff at t public dot com slash brain Stuff. For more on this and lots of other smart topics, visit our home planet, how Stuff Works dot com