How Technology Aids in Smarter Wound Care
The wonders of technology are endless, especially in the healthcare industry. One such emerging technology in the field are smart bandages, which are able to support smarter wound care. This is incredible for amputees with diabetes, who may find wound care challenging.
A team from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Harvard Medical School, and MIT developed a smart bandage that could eventually heal wounds on its own. It’s designed to monitor a wound’s health without manually addressing the bandage.
These smart bandages are able to heal a wound through gel-coated electrically conductive fibers, which carry antibiotics, painkillers, or other medications that help regenerate tissues that need healing. Some advanced ones even help people with diabetes better manage their blood sugar levels.
There are also other technologies that not only address wound care, but also help wounds heal faster. ColdPlasmaTech, a German startup, has developed a product that can do just that. It coats a dressing in cold plasma to destroy bacteria and stimulate the body’s own self-healing powers. With this product, the company aims to solve two of the biggest challenges in modern medicine: chronic ulcerations such as bedsores and diabetic feet, and resistant bacteria in wounds.
Another breakthrough technology is the MolecuLight i:X, a device developed by medical technology company Smith & Nephew, which aims to provide physicians with more guidance in making a clinical decision around wound care. The device enables healthcare professionals see harmful bacteria in the wound through fluorescence, giving them the ability to determine the best course of action at the right time.
For more information, see MolecuLight i:X in action:
Why wound care management is important
Coherent Market Insights published a Wound Care Market report that explains the importance of wound care management and how it helps avoid chronic wound conditions, like arterial ulcers, diabetic ulcers, and venous ulcers. These chronic conditions are known to affect a body's capability of restoring itself from such illnesses.
With these breakthrough discoveries and devices, people suffering from diabetes can lower the risk of amputation due to faster and effective wound healing. For amputees, on the other hand, their wounds may heal more efficiently with the proper wound care that these devices promote. Care for the residual limb after surgery is of utmost importance, as post-amputation wounds are at risk of contracting infections.
