pH sensing for sensor enabled negative pressure wound monitoring and therapy apparatuses
AssigneeSmith & Nephew, Inc.
InventorsEmma Rhian Cole, Nicholas Charlton Fry, Allan Kenneth Frazer Grugeon Hunt, Marcus Damian Phillips, Daniel Lee Steward
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of apparatuses, systems, methods for monitoring wound pH are disclosed. In some embodiments, a wound dressing includes one or more optical sensors configured to measure a change in color of a pH-sensitive adhesive that changes color in response to changes in wound exudate pH. In some embodiments, the wound dressing may further comprise hydrophilic channels that direct wound exudate to a pH-sensitive material over the optical sensors. Such dressings may also be used in combination with a negative pressure wound therapy system.
Claims20
A wound monitoring system, comprising:
- a wound dressing configured to be positioned in contact with a wound, the wound dressing comprising a pH sensor configured to measure a color of a pH-sensitive material configured to change color in response to a change in a pH of the wound, and a reference sensor configured to measure a color of a reference material configured to maintain a stable color when exposed to wound exudate;
- and
- a controller configured to normalize the color measured by the pH sensor with the color of the reference material and convert the color measured by the sensor to a pH value.
A method of monitoring the pH of a wound, comprising:
- monitoring a wound or skin surrounding a wound with a wound dressing positioned in contact with the wound or skin surrounding the wound, the wound dressing comprising a pH-sensitive material configured to change color in response to a change in a pH of the wound and a pH sensor configured to detect a color change of the pH-sensitive material;
- via a reference sensor, monitoring a reference material;
- and
- computing with a processor a pH value based on the detected color change from the sensor and normalizing the detected color change with the color of the reference material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.