Towards a Long-Term Multi-Site Electrochemical Wound Monitoring System

Abstract

Patients suffering from chronic non-healing wounds must deal with long-term physical pain, emotional distress, and financial burden. Monitoring of wound-exudate from chronic wounds could improve the efficacy of patient care, leading to improved treatment outcomes. We present a flexible bandage sized multi-site wound monitoring system with an on-board wireless embedded system consisting of four potentiostat analog front ends and a temperature sensor. This embedded system interfaces with four flexible electrochemical sensors screen-printed onto wound dressings for uric acid sensing; a biomarker for monitoring wound healing. This system measures uric acid levels at multiple sites of a single wound, allowing for spatial resolution when evaluating healing of large wounds. This work demonstrates the ability of this system to measure uric acid in-vitro. The system transmits potentiostat data to a remote data aggregator such as a tablet or smartphone, and can operate for up to 10 days powered by the on-board 350 mAh lithium polymer battery.