The smart bandage that knows how you’re healing

A billion dollar deal to create a 5G test hub for digital innovation at the Swansea University's Institute of Life Science produced smart bandages that can use data collected to track your health.

Injury-prone people, rejoice! A new technology could make it so you never need to redo your bandages again. The tech will use real-time 5G technology that can monitor treatment and track patient activity levels.

The work comes from Swansea University’s Institute of Life Science. The university has made a £1.3 billion-dollar deal to create a 5G test hub for digital innovation. The new bandages will allow for customized treatment due to their nano-technology sensors. 5G wireless data will be used to instantly transmit information about your health to your doctor, thereby allowing physicians to provide customized health care recommendations.

The constant flow of information to health care providers would allow patients to understand their own condition better. Since many people heal at different speeds, the 5G will provide, as the school’s professor Marc Clement told Engadget, “a resilient, robust bandwidth” that can notify patients immediately if they are due for health care changes from their physicians.

The university expects to hold trials within the next 12 months, but the 5G test hub and nanotech sensors still have some time until completion — meaning potential delays on testing.

If proved successful, the smart bandage could take the guesswork out of medicine, leaving doctors with more accurate data to work with rather than only relying on self-reported patient data. This could mean a health care regimen that is tailored to your location, activity, and overall lifestyle. As healthcare innovates other aspects of bandages, including design and rehabilitative time, we may see a new age of health.