Communications of the ACM
Professor Embeds Nanosensors in Microfibers to Create 'Smart Bandage'
Testing has focused on small bandages, but the technology can be applied to larger bandages as well.
Credit: Negar Rahmani / University of Rhode Island
By embedding nanosensors in the fibers of a bandage, University of Rhode Island Assistant Professor Daniel Roxbury and former URI graduate student Mohammad Moein Safaee have created a continuous, noninvasive way to detect and monitor an infection in a wound.
"Single-walled carbon nanotubes within the bandage will be able to identify an infection in the wound by detecting concentrations of hydrogen peroxide," says Roxbury, a researcher in URI's College of Engineering.
The "smart bandage" will be monitored by a miniaturized wearable device, which will wirelessly (optically) detect the signal from carbon nanotubes in the bandage. The signal can be transmitted to a device that automatically alerts the patient or a health care provider.
The technology behind the smart bandage is described in "A Wearable Optical Microfibrous Biomaterial with Encapsulated Nanosensors Enables Wireless Monitoring of Oxidative Stress," published in Advanced Functional Materials. Roxbury, Safaee, and URI doctoral student Mitchell Gravely are authors of the article.
From University of Rhode Island
View Full Article
No entries found