Smart Bandage Trial

5G technology could be used in bandages to monitor wounds, scientists have revealed.

16:52 18 April 2017

Bandages designed to monitor wounds using 5G technology could be trialed within the next 12 months to determine the most appropriate treatment, scientists at Swansea University have confirmed.

 

The new research is a part of the £1.3 major investment in science and technology in which Swansea has been chosen as a 5G test bed to trial the next generation of mobile internet. The Swansea City Region deal, which was signed by Prime Minister Theresa May last month, aims to put Wales “at the forefront of science and innovation”.

 

Professor Marc Clement, Chairman of the Institute of Life Science (ILS) where the research is being undertaken, said: "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."

 

Scientists are going to use nanotechnology to determine the state of wound. Such information can be combined with other data captured by a patient’s mobile phone to help doctors assess treatment needs.

 

Clement said: "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."