smartBandage - Developing a demonstrator for continuous monitoring of compression therapy efficacy

静脉性腿部溃疡(VLU)是一种慢性疾病，影响大约1%的人口。首选的治疗方案是应用压迫疗法，这种疗法与佩戴者的活动一起促进愈合。然而，高达73%的压缩绷带没有充分应用，没有方法测量准确的压力或监测患者的活动。不适和缺乏意识意味着55%的患者不依从治疗，愈合时间比目标6个月长得多。VLU每年花费英国NHS GB 1.98亿英镑，其中大部分是由于社区护理时间，他们将大约50%的时间花在患者就诊上。在SmartLife，我们拥有SmartBandage，这是一款受专利保护的智能纺织品解决方案，可以连续和实时准确测量分度压力。我们的解决方案将信息无线发送到用户应用程序，供患者和护理人员访问。这允许监测伤口愈合、绷带的移动或磨损以及患者的活动。这些成果意味着治疗可以个人量身定做，患者意识得到提高，促进了治疗依从性，从而提高了治愈率。预计英国医疗保健行业每年将节省8000万英镑，并带来显著的社会效益。与Crawford Healthcare合作，该项目的目标是将SmartBandage从概念验证带到为医疗认证准备的工作原型。

Venous leg ulceration (VLU) is a chronic condition that affects roughly 1% of the population. The preferred treatment option is application of compression therapy, which alongside wearer activity promotes healing. However, up to 73% compression bandages are inadequately applied with no method to measure accurate pressure or monitor patient activity. Discomfort and lack of awareness means 55% of patients are non-compliant and healing takes much longer than the target 6 months. VLU costs the UK NHS £198m per year, the majority of which is due to community nursing time who spend ~50% of their time on patient visits. At Smartlife, we have smartBandage, a patent protected intelligent textile solution, which enables accurate measuring of graduated pressure continuously and in real-time. Our solution sends information wirelessly to a user application to be accessed by both patient and carer. This allows monitoring of wound healing, bandage movement or wear and patient activity. The outputs mean treatment can be personally tailored and patient awareness is increased promoting treatment adherence and so improving healing rates. Savings of £80m per year are predicted for the healthcare industry in the UK as well as significant social benefits. Partnered with Crawford Healthcare, the aim of this project is to take smartBandage from proof of concept to a working prototype prepared for medical certification.