GelDerm: Smart Bandage for Chronic Wound Management

Wound management is a global challenge that plagues the health care system due to an aging population, chronic diseases and increased incidence of obesity. Generally, wounds heal quickly in healthy individuals without any medical intervention. However, individuals with underlying health conditions can experience a slower healing process leading to an increased risk of severe infection. Pathogenic infections significantly delay wound healing, cause pain and discomfort, and can lead to serious complications, such as physical disability or death. Hence, there is a need for wound dressing solutions that can facilitate early detection and treatment of infections to promote patient health and well-being.

Researchers at the University of Victoria have developed and patented a smart bandage technology that uses hydrogel-based dressing to detect wound infection using a colorimetric approach. This technology, GelDerm, implements multiple colorimetric sensors that change color when a wound develops a pathogenic infection. More specifically, GelDerm integrates both colorimetric sensors and drug-eluting hydrogel-based components to detect and treat wound infection. Researchers have also incorporated a smartphone app to provide wound analytics to the user (e.g. patient and/or clinician) to facilitate wound condition monitoring (see Figure 1). 

Figure 1

• Wound care and management.