A smart bandage that intelligently tracks how well a wound is healing by measuring its pH level has claimed top honour at the 2022 Global James Dyson Award.
SmartHEAL, invented by students at the Warsaw University of Technology, Poland, is said to address a poorly understood health issue and provide an affordable solution to it.
Assessing how well a wound is healing can be difficult when it is covered by a traditional bandage and removing the dressing too often can lead to infections and tissue disruption.
Using Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology means the sensor on the dressing does not require power, so medical personnel or the patients themselves can read the current state of pH values by passing a mobile device over it.
That should mean the wound's condition is able to be assessed and infection can be detected without removing the dressing. Medical professionals could then use the information to prescribe appropriate treatment for the wound.
Winning the award has landed the SmartHEAL team NZ$59,000.
"We've all nervously peeled back a dressing or plaster to see what is happening underneath," said Sir James Dyson, founder and chief engineer at the tech company.
"SmartHEAL, a smart dressing, has won the International James Dyson Award because it provides doctors and patients with a key piece of data - the pH level - that can tell them how a wound is healing.
"This can improve treatment and prevent infection, saving lives. I hope the Award will give the team impetus to proceed down the tricky path towards commercialisation."
Also awarded NZ$59,000 as an international winner was a group of students at McMaster University in Canada for inbventing Polyformer, a machine that recycles plastic bottles into affordable 3D printer filament for developing nations.
A runner-up prize of NZ$9800 was also awarded to the University of Antwerp, Belgium's Charlotte Blancke for inventing Ivvy, a wearable replacement for intravenous drip pole apparatus said to improve comfort and mobility for patients.
The SmartHEAL team at Warsaw University of Technology said they will soon finish testing before moving on to clinical trials, with an aim to have the certification process completed within three years so they can start selling intelligent wound dressings in 2025.
