The title of this post says a lot about this article, but it’s definitely an interesting read. Biomedical Engineers in Switzerland have developed an optical fiber with an acid sensitive coating that they are able to use in monitoring wound healing. The fiber changes color in relation to the acid level in the wound and also carries light to the wound and then back to a device that enables them to monitor what is under the bandage in real-time. The technology is now being calibrated and prepared for animal testing in the future.

The possibilities these bandages offer are great; if BME’s can engineer bandages sensitive to specific enzymes or even germs and viruses physicians can get an idea of what’s actually occurring under the wound dressing sooner and without removing it.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/diagnostics/optical-fiber-watches-wounds