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Dominik Baraniecki MSc. Eng. , Filip Budny MSc. Eng. , Tomasz Raczyński MSc. Eng. and Piotr Walter MSc. Eng. created an intelligent plaster for the diagnosis of the condition of chronic wounds – SmartHEAL. After the team won the Polish edition of this year’s James Dyson Award, won also International edition James Dyson Award.
When covered by a dressing, it is very hard to know how well a wound is healing. The most common mistake in wound healing is changing the dressing too often, which can lead to infections and tissue disruption.
Current methods of assessing a wound rely on subjective scoring of colour, smell, temperature – or expensive laboratory biochemical tests. Poor wound healing not only leads to tissue inflammation, but also necrosis (death of body tissue that is irreversible), and can lead to severe illness or death.
In the United States, 3% of people older than 65 years have open wounds. The US government estimates that by the year 2060, the elderly population will be over 77 million. Chronic wounds are likely to be a persistent problem in this population.
The wound exudate reaches two electrodes – the reference electrode and the indicator electrode with a layer sensitive to changes in the index level. The acidity or basicity of the reaction is determined from the difference in potential of the electrodes. Then, using the RFID antenna, the result will be read by the patient or medical staff.
SmartHEAL is a precise, affordable and scalable smart pH sensor for dressings. By using Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) communication systems and monitoring the pH of a wound, SmartHEAL can assess the wound’s condition and detect infection without removing the dressing, and therefore without disrupting the tissue. Medical professionals can subsequently analyse the data and prescribe the appropriate treatment for the wound. Smart bandages create and preserve a balanced wound environment.
The team will finish testing and then start clinical trials. Their aim is to then finish the certification process in three years’ time so they can start to distribute and sell SmartHEAL dressings in 2025.
Source: https://www.dyson.co.uk/newsroom/overview/news/november-2022/James-Dyson-Award-2022-Global-Winners