(315e) A Stretchable Wireless Smart Bandage for Multiplexed and Multimodal Monitoring and Combination Treatment of Infected Chronic Wounds

A Stretchable Wireless Smart Bandage for Multiplexed and Multimodal Monitoring and Combination Treatment of Infected Chronic Wounds

Ehsan Shirzaei Sani¹, Wei Gao^1*

¹Andrew and Peggy Cherng Department of Medical Engineering, Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125 USA

Introduction

Chronic non-healing wounds are a significant burden on the healthcare system, affecting over 6.7 million people in the United States alone and costing over $25 billion per year. Current therapies often require surgical intervention, and overuse of antibiotics can lead to drug resistance. Here, we introduce a fully-integrated wireless wearable bioelectronic system that effectively monitors the physiological conditions of the wound bed via multiplexed and multimodal wound biomarker analysis, and performs combination therapy through electro-responsive controlled drug delivery for anti-inflammatory antimicrobial treatment and exogenous electrical stimulation for tissue regeneration. The system was evaluated in vivo over prolonged periods of time in different rodent models with infected diabetic wounds, showing substantial accelerated chronic wound closure.

Methods

A highly flexible smart bandage was designed and fabricated by using microfabrication techniques. The flexible sensor patch contains arrays of multiplex sensors for mapping different physiological conditions of the wound.

Results and discussion

Here we present the development of a wireless wearable bioelectronic system with a multimodal biosensor array for multiplexed monitoring of wound exudate biomarkers, a stimulus-responsive drug-loaded electroactive hydrogel, and a pair of voltage-modulated electrodes for controlled drug release and electrical stimulation. The wearable patch is biocompatible, mechanically flexible, stretchable, and skin-conformal, and is capable of real-time selective monitoring of a panel of crucial wound biomarkers in multiple rodent models. The wearable patch is equipped with an on-demand electro-responsive drug release system, loaded with an antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory peptide, and can be modified with different electroactive hydrogels to deliver several other positively or negatively charged drugs and biomolecules. The integration of an electrical stimulation therapeutic module could facilitate cell motility and proliferation, and ECM deposition and remodeling in the process of wound regeneration resulting in rapid and effective cutaneous wound healing. Overall, the custom-engineered fully-integrated wearable patch could serve as a more effective, fully controllable, and easy-to-implement platform for personalized monitoring and treatment of chronic wounds with minimal side effects.

Reference:

1. Shirzaei Sani et al., Sci. Adv., 9, eadf7388, 2023.