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.
Highlights
A wound is a common pathological condition of the skin, which has a wide range of sources, including accidental skin damage, related diseases, and conventional medical surgery [1]
It is no exaggeration to say that the number of patients with chronic wounds is going to surge without rational control
Statistically consumptive wound dressing is not the major component among the vast expenditure; nursing and hospitalization together account for 80–85% of the total cost of wound management because of the cumbersome care for the complex process of chronic wound healing [7]
Summary
A wound is a common pathological condition of the skin, which has a wide range of sources, including accidental skin damage, related diseases (such as diabetes, cancer, and vascular disease), and conventional medical surgery [1]. The use of smart bandages for early identification of bacterial infections can reduce the probability of chronic wounds and improve wound healing efficiency. Some recent studies implemented bandages to autonomously release drugs according to the real-time physiological conditions of the wound [25], forming a complete closed-loop of wound detection and treatment, which would be highly beneficial for patients suffering from chronic wounds. When bacteria infect a wound, the alkaline byproduct of bacterial proliferation will increase the pH of the wound, which can often exceed 7.3 in the presence of high bacterial levels [33] When this happens, there are many physiological changes in the wound that are not conducive to healing, which is reflected in two aspects [57]. PH can be used to evaluate the process of wound healing and indicate whether drugs are needed
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