Flexible integrated sensing platform for monitoring wound temperature and predicting infection

Abstract

Wound infection is a challenging clinical problem that imposes substantial economic and psychological burdens on patients. However, the wound covered by a dressing is in an ‘unknown’ state. Recently, researchers have focused on understanding the condition of the wound without removing the dressing. Here, we presented a flexible integrated sensing platform (FISP) that can monitor multiple indicators, including local temperature. The platform consists of a flexible sensor chip (FSC), a controlled printed circuit board (CPCB) and a customized application installed on a smartphone that can receive and display data from the sensor chip through Bluetooth Low Energy 4.0 (BLE4.0) and upload real-time wound information. This device exhibits satisfactory measurement accuracy, stability, durability, skin compliance and biocompatibility. It was applied to infected wounds on the back of rabbits to reveal the temperature changes characteristic of wounds infected with different bacteria, and this information was compared with the changes in the core body temperature of animals. We found differences in the temperature among wounds infected with different pathogens and the temperature of the wound infection occurred earlier than the change in anal temperature. The combined application of the FISP and dressings might help identify the ‘unknown’ state of wounds in the clinic.