A Review of Recent Advances in Flexible Wearable Sensors for Wound Detection Based on Optical and Electrical Sensing

Abstract

Chronic wounds that are difficult to heal can cause persistent physical pain and significant medical costs for millions of patients each year. However, traditional wound care methods based on passive bandages cannot accurately assess the wound and may cause secondary damage during frequent replacement. With advances in materials science and smart sensing technology, flexible wearable sensors for wound condition assessment have been developed that can accurately detect physiological markers in wounds and provide the necessary information for treatment decisions. The sensors can implement the sensing of biochemical markers and physical parameters that can reflect the infection and healing process of the wound, as well as transmit vital physiological information to the mobile device through optical or electrical signals. Most reviews focused on the applicability of flexible composites in the wound environment or drug delivery devices. This paper summarizes typical biochemical markers and physical parameters in wounds and their physiological significance, reviews recent advances in flexible wearable sensors for wound detection based on optical and electrical sensing principles in the last 5 years, and discusses the challenges faced and future development. This paper provides a comprehensive overview for researchers in the development of flexible wearable sensors for wound detection.

Peptidomic analysis of endogenous and bacterial protease activity in human plasma and wound fluids

“…57 Currently, various approaches are under development, such as sensors to monitor pH and temperature. 58 , 59 Moreover, measurement of general elevated protease activity in clinics may be done using the Woundchek Protease status 12 and the Woundchek Bacterial status, developed by Woundchek Laboratories, although additional independent clinical studies are needed to further determine the diagnostic and prognostic value of these tests. As proteolytic activity is an indicator for the level of protein degradation, the identification of endogenous peptides may be useful to measure and predict wound healing status.…”

Review of Advances in the Measurement of Skin Hydration Based on Sensing of Optical and Electrical Tissue Properties

“…Although there is not yet any combined analysis of multi-state variates within the experimental side of multi-modal sensing, efforts are being made by researchers to investigate this method of testing. A downside to multi-modal sensors opens the challenge of utilising a larger hardware circuit size and possible trade-offs in performance due to the micro-integration [ 68 ].…”

A Conducting Polymer-based array with Multiplex Sensing and Drug Delivery Capabilities for Smart Bandages

“…UA can be used as an indicator of wound severity and bacterial infection. The UA concentration in wound exudate uctuates between 220-750 µM, which increases with wound severity and decreases in case of bacterial infection 11 . Although enzymatic UA biosensors are available, offering good selectivity for detecting UA under relatively stable physiological pH conditions, such as in serum, previously reported amperometric UA biosensors have not considered the uctuating pH levels in real wound exudates 12,13 .…”