Carl Saxby

SWAN-iCare: A smart wearable and autonomous negative pressure device for wound monitoring and therapy

The EU FP7 SWAN-iCare project aims at developing an integrated autonomous device for the monitoring and the personalized management of chronic wounds, mainly diabetic foot ulcers and venous leg ulcers. Most foot and leg ulcers are caused by diabetes and vascular problems respectively but a remarkable number of them are also due to the co-morbidity influence of many other diseases (e.g. kidney disease, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, inflammatory bowel disease). More than 10 million people in Europe suffer from chronic wounds, a number which is expected to grow due to the aging of the population. The core of the project is the fabrication of a conceptually new wearable negative pressure device equipped with Information and Communication Technologies. Such device will allow users to: (a) accurately monitor many wound parameters via non-invasive integrated micro-sensors, (b) early identify infections and (c) remotely provide an innovative personalized two-line therapy via non-invasive micro-actuators to supplement the negative pressure wound therapy. This paper describes the main components of the SWAN-iCare system and its potential impact in the area of wound management.

A D-optimal design to model the performances of dressings and devices for negative pressure wound therapy

A D-optimal design was used to identify and model variables that affect the transit time of wound exudate through an illustrative dressing used for negative pressure wound therapy. Many authors have addressed the clinical benefits of negative pressure wound therapy, but limited information is available on how to assess performances of dressings. In this paper, the transit time of wound exudate through a dressing was chosen as a model parameter to show how experimental design (DOE) can be used for this purpose. Results demonstrated that rate of exudate production, temperature and dressing thickness were the variables with the largest impact on transit time. The DOE approach could be used to model other dressing properties, like for example capability of absorbing excess exudate or breathability.

SWAN-iCare project: Towards smart wearable and autonomous negative pressure device for wound monitoring and therapy

This paper describes the SWAN-iCare system and its potential impact in the area of wound management. The SWAN-iCare project aims at developing an integrated autonomous device for the monitoring and the personalized management of chronic wounds, mainly diabetic foot ulcers and venous leg ulcers. Most foot and leg ulcers are caused by diabetes and vascular problems respectively but a remarkable number of them are also due to the co-morbidity influence of many other diseases (e.g. kidney disease, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, inflammatory bowel disease). More than 10 million people in Europe suffer from chronic wounds, a number which is expected to grow due to the aging of the population. The core of the project is the fabrication of a conceptually new wearable negative pressure device equipped with Information and Communication Technologies. Such device will allow users to: (a) accurately monitor many wound parameters via non-invasive integrated micro-sensors, (b) early identify infections and (c) remotely provide an innovative personalized two-line therapy via non-invasive micro-actuators to supplement the negative pressure wound therapy.