Device and Method for Wound Monitoring and Diagnosis using Radio-Frequency Technologies

Background:

Chronic wound healing affects nearly 6 million Americans per year at a cost of $20 billion.  Proper wound healing needs to be monitored in many patients including burn victims as well as pressure venous leg and diabetic ulcer sufferers.  These ulcers can lead to amputations and death.  However, frequently removing wound dressings to monitor these conditions increases the chance of infection, site damage and pain.

Technology Overview:

A non-contact sensor based system, mmSkin™, is designed to monitor wound size and topography, epidermal moisture, and healing through the dressing.  It is based on radio-wave high frequencies to provide millimeter resolution of both wound size and skin hydration.  Hydration is tied to elasticity, pliability, and mechanical strength.  Background signals such as skin color are reduced by using synthetic aperture radar methods and specialized algorithms.

Advantages:

• Compact
• Safe low energy levels
• Millimeter resolution
• Inexpensive components
• Resistant to environmental interference
• Increased accuracy
• Rapid scan times

Applications:

• Skin health monitoring for burn treatments
• Diabetic and other skin ulcers
• Trauma patients 
• Post-surgery care

Intellectual Property Summary:

Provisional patent application 63/604,890 filed November 30, 2023.

Stage of Development:

Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 device and software demonstrated in a lab environment.

Licensing Status:

Available for licensing or collaboration.