Materials and Device Designs for Wireless Monitoring of Temperature and Thermal Transport Properties of Wound Beds during Healing

Abstract

Chronic wounds represent a major health risk for diabetic patients. Regeneration of such wounds requires regular medical treatments over periods that can extend for several months or more. Schemes for monitoring the healing process can provide important feedback to the patient and caregiver. Although qualitative indicators such as malodor or fever can provide some indirect information, quantitative measurements of the wound bed have the potential to yield important insights. The work presented here introduces materials and engineering designs for a wireless system that captures spatio-temporal temperature and thermal transport information across the wound continuously throughout the healing process. Systematic experimental and computational studies establish the materials aspects and basic capabilities of this technology. In vivo studies reveal that both the temperature and the changes in this quantity offer information on wound status, with indications of initial exothermic reactions and mechanisms of scar tissue formation. Bioresorbable materials serve as the foundations for versions of this device that create possibilities for monitoring on and within the wound site, in a way that bypasses the risks of physical removal. Temperature, thermal conductivity-based wound monitoring system using a wireless communication platform provides continuously wound healing status for diabetic patients. Multi-arrayed temperature sensors and a thermal actuator facilitate spatio-temporal temperature maps across the wound areas to track the wound-healing process. In vivo studies demonstrate insights determined by real-time, long-term wound status monitoring such as the end of exothermic reactions and formation of scar tissue.image