‘Smart bandages’ could revolutionise treatment

BANDAGES that will use the latest technology to send messages to doctors about how the wound is healing could be tested within the next 12 months.

Scientists at Swansea University are working on a way to use realtime 5G technology to help monitor patients.

Tiny sensors in the bandages will provide information that could be sent to the doctor’s phone and will mean treatment could be tailored to the individual patient.

The project is being led by Swansea University’s Institute of Life Science – a collaboration between the university and the Welsh Government, together with Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University (ABMU) Health Board, IBM and industry and business partners.

The work forms part of the £1.3bn Swansea Bay City Deal which aims to create a 5G test hub for digital innovation.

Professor Marc Clement, chairman of the Institute of Life Science (ILS), told the BBC: “5G is an opportunity to produce resilient, robust bandwidth that is always there for the purpose of healthcare.

“That intelligent dressing uses nanotechnology to sense the state of that wound at any one specific time.

“It would connect that wound to a 5G infrastructure and that infrastructure, through your telephone, will also know things about you – where you are, how active you are at any one time.

“You combine all of that intelligence so the clinician knows the performance of the specific wound at any specific time and can then tailor the treatment protocol to the individual and wound in question.”

He added: “5G is an opportunity to produce resilient, robust bandwidth that is always there for the purpose of healthcare.

“Traditional medicine may be where a clinician might see a patient and then prescribe the treatment approach for a month or three months.

“What the future holds is a world where there’s the ability to vary the treatment to the individual, the lifestyle and the pattern of life.”

Prof Clement added: “Sometimes we revere doctors so much that we tell them all is well, but all of the evidence is there before them in this 5G world, so the clinician and patient can work together to address the challenge.”

Experts at the Welsh Wound Innovation Centre are also involved in the project and trials are likely to be carried out on patients in the southwest Wales area.