Advances in textile engineering technology in healthcare

As technology advances unstoppable, researchers have discovered many better new applications. For example, textiles have traditionally been made from cloth, for example, microfiber cloth has been used to clean glasses for 20 years. Textiles made of plastics and adhesives are now worn on the body, but not used as clothing, but in the health care field. For example, in the case of a user driving a sleepy situation, a print sensor can be used to issue a warning. Let's look at how textiles have evolved for applications such as healthcare.

Today's IoT connected wearables (such as Fitbit or Apple Watch) allow doctors to remotely monitor patients. Over the next five years, we can expect IoT remote monitoring through these devices to record vital signs and transmit the data to the doctor. However, we can use electronic textiles with biosensors (eTextile) to go further.

For disease tracking, doctors can use the APP to remotely track diseases such as diabetes or Lyme disease. We can collect data through electronic textiles, send it to these apps to record information, and then pass it on to the doctor. In this way, the number of patients going to the hospital can be reduced, and doctors can analyze more data. If the data is transmitted via an APP on the smartphone, the patient can even see vital signs and important information about the disease being tracked.

By combining remote monitoring with telemedicine, doctors can get all the information they need to diagnose patients based on vital signs from e-textiles and descriptions and images from remote clinics (which are easily done with a smartphone camera). In this way, the doctor can treat the patient without prescribing a prescription or treatment plan without the patient making an appointment. This is especially beneficial for rural patients living in remote areas.

Smart bandages are textiles made of composite fibers with a core electric heater and covered by a hydrogel containing a heat-sensitive drug carrier. The current through the fiber can be controlled by a smartphone to heat the hydrogel, activate the selected drug carrier, and release the drug components contained therein. A variety of drugs can be used to make a smart bandage textile, each with different release characteristics.

Many applications have become interested in this technology. Through dermal administration, healthcare professionals can ensure that their wards receive the right medication at the right time – more convenient than swallowing pills or subcutaneous injections. However, its greater value is the battlefield application. In wartime, wounded soldiers often suffer multiple injuries and are more susceptible to infection. Smart bandages not only help prevent this, but also speed up the treatment process, allowing soldiers to return to the battlefield faster.

Scientists from Carlos III University in Madrid, Spain, used 3D printing technology to produce synthetic human skin textiles. They use biological ingredients in a process called bioprinting, not the plastics used in traditional 3D printers.

At the university's press conference in early 2017, the researchers outlined two different processes: "The mass production of allogeneic skin from cell banks for industrial processes; the creation of autologous skin from patients' own cells, for For therapeutic use, such as severe burn treatment."

Synthetic skin uses bio-ink to try to replicate layers in real skin. Using the right biological ingredients to fight the deterioration is the key to success. “Understanding how to mix biological components, under what conditions it works without deteriorating cells, and how to properly deposit products is critical to the system,” said researcher Juan Francisco del Cañizo.

The computer controls the entire process by depositing the bio-ink in an orderly manner on the printing station and then generating the skin. The 3D printer first prints the epidermis with the stratum corneum, the outer layer of the skin. Next is the dermis, followed by a layer of fibroblasts that produce collagen – a protein that gives the skin strength and elasticity. In combination, we are not far from skin grafts that no longer need to take skin from other parts of the body.

In just half an hour, the researchers were able to create 100 square centimeters of synthetic skin. They also suggest that the patient's own cells can be used to create synthetic skin – essentially essentially personalizing the skin texture to better match each patient. In this case, the burned patient will no longer have to worry about skin grafting; the skin is still his own skin, but it is not taken from another part of the body, but is printed by a computer.

Another interesting application for using the patient's own cells to synthesize skin is: drug testing. People may be allergic to drugs, so drug testers can avoid the risk of testing a living person. Instead, test a small piece of synthetic skin with the person's DNA to see if there is any reaction.

Whether it's plastic or synthetic human skin, textiles are changing the future of healthcare. At the time of synthetic skin, we may no longer need to cut a piece of skin from one part of the body and then transplant it to another part, while electronic textiles may transmit data wirelessly to the APP before sending it to the doctor. Remote monitoring can reduce the number of times patients run hospital and outpatient appointments. Finally, smart bandages can change the way the battlefield drugs are managed, allowing soldiers to heal faster and return to the battlefield faster.