Smart Sutures That Detect Infections – Technology Review
Surgical sutures are mindless threads no more. Researchers have now coated them with sensors that could monitor wounds and speed up healing.
The electronic sutures, which contain ultrathin silicon sensors integrated on polymer or silk strips, can be threaded through needles, and in animal tests researchers were able to lace them through skin, pull them tight, and knot them without degrading the devices.
The sutures can precisely measure temperature—elevated temperatures indicate infection—and deliver heat to a wound site, which is known to aid healing.