Smart bandage

If someone is suffering from a chronic wound, it's important for their doctor to continuously know the status of that injury. A new bandage is designed to keep physicians in the loop, via everyone's favorite wonder material – graphene.

The treatment of chronic wounds often involves the application of different medications, at different stages in the healing process. A new electronic bandage could allow this to happen, but without having to be removed for each application.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a smart bandage that changes color to signal either drug-resistant or drug-sensitive bacteria. It can then be triggered to release antibiotics or other chemicals to kill off the bugs.

When a bone-break occurs, the body floods the injury site with a healing biochemical known as adenosine. A new bandage is designed to absorb that substance, keeping it around so it can do more work.

The most common form of arthritis, arthrosis is caused by wear and tear on joint cartilage. And while some exercise helps, too much just makes things worse. That's where a new "smart" knee bandage will come in, by providing real-time strain readings.

A number of research groups around the world have already produced promising experimental versions of futuristic bandages that could take our healing game to the next level. Here’s a look at some of the more interesting examples.

​With a few experimental exceptions, bandages generally just cover wounds, as opposed to actively healing them. That's not the case with a new heat-activated "active adhesive dressing" (AAD), however, which forgoes antibiotics while mimicking embryonic skin.

For some time now, scientists have known that electrical currents can help heal chronic wounds. And while there are electrotherapy units that are in use, they can be quite bulky and complex. That's why researchers have created an "electric bandage" that's powered by the motion of the body.

Chronic skin wounds may be notoriously difficult to treat, but at the same time they shouldn't be OVER-treated, subjecting patients to more antibiotics than is necessary. That's why scientists have developed a "smart" bandage that only dispenses medication as needed.

​Because diabetics often have both nerve damage and poor circulation, they will often not notice when they receive skin wounds, which proceed to heal very slowly. Those wounds can thus become chronic. A new regenerative bandage, however, could help keep this from happening.

When a patient is suffering from a condition such as venous leg ulcers, that limb needs to be wrapped in a compression bandage. It's important, however, that the the correct amount of pressure is applied. New color-changing bandage fibers have been designed to ensure that caregivers get it right.

​Imagine if a bandage could release fresh doses of medication over time, or even different types of medication at specific times. Well, researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Harvard Medical School and MIT have developed just such a thing … and it could be controlled by a smartphone.