Thin, Flexible Sensors and Actuators as ‘Instrumented’ Surgical Sutures for Targeted Wound Monitoring and Therapy

Abstract

Proper healing of incised skin is critical to the natural processes of tissue repair. Concepts in flexible silicon electronics enable integration of actuators, sensors and a variety of semiconductor devices onto thin strips of plastic or biopolymers, to yield ‘instrumented’ suture threads for monitoring and accelerating the wound healing in this context. Bifacial systems of this type demonstrate various classes of functionality, in live animal models. Detailed modelling of the mechanics reveals stress and strain distributions in such applications, to support design strategies for robust operation.