Chronic wounds (CWs) usually happen in diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers, and pressure ulcers. When wounds fail to achieve sufficient healing within four weeks, it indicates that bacteria in the wounds are promoting chronicity through relapse infections. Therefore, how to observe changes in a wound after it is covered with gauze to avoid the formation of CWs is important for clinical care. Previous studies showed that wound pH value distribution can be used as an important basis for infection and healing assessment. This paper proposed the design of sensor gauze with multi-channel moisture and pH monitoring for CWs. The moisture sensing analysis of different areas could be used to determine the distribution of the corresponding wound tissue fluid, as well as automatically carry out multi-area pH value measurements and wound analysis. The analysis results were graphically displayed on a monitoring device. The results indicated that the proposed design could measure pH values with high sensitivity (0.01 pH/mV) in the range of 3 to 10. Statistical correlation analysis revealed a strong correlation (R 2 = 0.97) between the standard meter and each pH sensing point. In the experimental correlation between the proposed device and the moisture device, the results show that there was a high correlation (R 2 = 0.97). The response time of the whole wound scan with four channels was within one second. This design has the potential to provide assistance for related clinical care applications. INDEX TERMS Chronic wounds (CWs), sensor gauze, multi-channel, pH, moisture.
Hemodialysis (HD) is a clinical treatment that requires the puncturing of the body surface. However, needle dislodgement can cause a high risk of blood leakage and can be fatal to patients. Previous studies proposed several devices for blood leakage detection using optical or electrical techniques. Nonetheless, these methods used single-point detection and the design was not suitable for multi-bed monitoring. This study proposed a novel wearable device for blood leakage monitoring during HD using an array sensing patch. The array sensing patch combined with a mapping circuit and a wireless module could measure and transmit risk levels. The different risk levels could improve the working process of healthcare workers, and enhance their work efficiency and reduce inconvenience due to false alarms. Experimental results showed that each point of the sensing array could detect up to 0.1 mL of blood leakage and the array sensing patch supports a risk level monitoring system up to 8 h to alert healthcare personnel of pertinent danger to the patients.
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