Smart bandages with integrated sensors for real-time monitoring of wound inflammation and infection

Current diagnostic and treatment of chronic wound modalities cannot provide accurate information because they cannot account for dynamic changes in the wound environment or predict the healing outcome. Therefore, there remains a pressing need for more efficient methods like intelligent bandages that can indicate the current state of the wound and help determine whether the wound is on track to heal. A noninvasive wearable fiber optic smart bandage with fiber Bragg grating fiber optic sensor is proposed to realize smart bandages that support the diagnosis and treatment of chronic wound modalities. The device has all-optical interference phenomena to help monitor the status and history of the wound during and after therapy. The suggested fiber optic sensor consists of a thin layer of gold coated onto the fiber Bragg gratings. The cladding of the FBGs was etched to a thickness of 20µm to optimize the interaction with the chronic wound environment. The sensing FBG was coated with a 50nm thick layer of gold to enhance the sensing capabilities. The system is configured to monitor changes in the reflected frequencies of the sensing FBG in response to temperature variations in the structure of the FBG in the wound bed. The reflected frequencies of both the local and sensing FBGs are combined within the same input line of the FBG. The response variations within the 37.3–37.9°C range is approximately 34.95 pm/°C. The sensitivity of the generated beat frequency is 4.37GHz, and the variations in the beat frequency as the temperature changes provide valuable insights into the sensor’s response. smart bandages for chronic wounds can be feasible with high-precision, noninvasive fiber optic sensors.