‘Smart’ stitches can send out infection alerts to save patients
SURGICAL thread which can detect post-operative complications and then alert doctors on their mobile phones could revolutionise patient safety, according to scientists.
Researchers have successfully tested “smart” stitching that was able to diagnose infections and then inform clinicians in real time.
As well as collecting data on toxicity, the thread can also analyse tissue strength and detect how well a wound is healing.
The technology should allow doctors to immediately spot any problems that could cause a patient to deteriorate after an operation, rather than relying on staff to look out for more general symptoms of infection or breached stitching.
A team at Tufts University in Massachusetts integrated nano-scale sensors into threads that were also dipped in chemical sensing compounds and connected to wireless electronic circuitry.
They sutured the threads through multiple layers of tissues in rats in the same way as normal surgical thread might have been used.
The scientists could monitor the stress and pressure a wound was under, how well it was healing and whether the body’s chemistry was out of balance. They believe the 3D platform will prove to be able to conform to complex structures such as organs, hip or knee replacements.
Sameer Sonkusale, associate professor at Tufts and co-author of the study, said: “We think thread-based devices could potentially be used as smart sutures for surgical implants, smart bandages to monitor wound healing.” The innovation marks a leap forward in implantable diagnostic devices, which have so far been expensive and two-dimensional, limiting their use to flat tissue such as skin.
“By contrast, thread is abundant, inexpensive, thin and flexible, and can be easily manipulated into complex shapes,” said Pooria Mostafalu, postdoctoral research fellow and the study’s lead author.
The thread trialled by the Tufts team was linked to wireless technology that was able to communicate with a mobile phone up to ten metres away, although researchers said it would be possible to improve the range. The smart thread can also detect and communicate glucose levels and Prof Sonkusale said that could be immensely valuable to diabetic patients who often have to deal with chronic wounds which do not heal properly.
Alerting doctors if bed sores become infected could also be a significant benefit, he said, adding: “A few years down the line I would hope to see these sutures being routinely used for all kinds of things in hospitals.”
The team is now looking for volunteers to trial the smart stitching on skin and will need to conduct extensive toxicology research on the thread before being allowed to test it on internal wounds in people.
The study was published in the journal Microsystems & Nanoengineering.
‘In a few years I would hope to see these sutures being routinely used for all kinds of things in hospitals.’