In Singapore, a new smart wearable sensor can assess chronic wounds in real-time and wirelessly via a mobile app.

The technology was developed by a research team from the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Institute for Health Innovation and Technology (iHealthtech), together with their clinical partners from Singapore General Hospital. The findings of this research were published in the journal Science Advances.

WHAT IT DOES

VeCare is a point-of-care wound assessment platform consisting of a wound sensing bandage with an electronic chip and a mobile app for remote monitoring. 

The bandage comprises a wound contact layer, a breathable outer barrier, a microfluidic wound fluid collector and a flexible immuno-sensor. Using an electrochemical system, it can detect temperature, acidity, bacteria type and inflammatory factors specific to chronic wounds within 15 minutes. Its chip component is powered by a rechargeable battery that can be reused for later applications.

WHY IT MATTERS

NUS noted in a press statement that about 2% of the world's population deals with non-healing wounds, such as diabetic foot and chronic venous leg ulcers. "Timely care and proper treatment of chronic wounds are needed to speed up wound recovery," it said.

At present, clinical assessments of this type of wound rely on visual inspection or the collection of wound fluid to detect and analyse specific biomarkers – a process that can take a day or two and "may impede" medical interventions. While there are recent developments in flexible sensors for wound care, these can only probe a limited set of markers, such as acidity and temperature. 

Going beyond limitations, the researchers came up with VeCare. "The aim is to have an effective and easy to use diagnostic and prognostic tool for precise and data-driven clinical management of patients," said Lim Chwee Teck, professor and director of iHealthtech at NUS.

The research team will be seeking safety and regulatory permissions and preparing for mass production. They will also explore incorporating other appropriate biomarkers for other wound types, as well as utilising data in existing clinical workflows to enhance diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, they will be testing VeCare on a larger randomised clinical trial with different types of chronic ulcers, such as diabetic foot and pressure ulcers. 

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Technology-enabled wound care has been around in the past decade with prominent players, such as Canadian health tech provider PointClickCare and US-based medical device maker Garwood Medical, working on this space.

In 2018, researchers from Tufts University, Harvard Medical School and Purdue University in the US developed a wound dressing that not only monitors a wearer's wound in real-time but also administers medication. 

In January last year, Healthy.io introduced a wound care system comprising a smartphone app and two calibration stickers for wound management and tracking. The product is designed for nurse use in a clinical setting. 

ON THE RECORD

"Point-of-care devices coupled with telehealth or digital health capability can play a significant role in transforming the healthcare industry and our society, which is catalysed by the COVID-19 pandemic requirements for safe distancing. Our smart bandage technology is the first of its kind designed for chronic wound management to give patients the freedom to perform the test and monitor their wound conditions at home," Prof. Lim stated.