Researchers Unveil New Smart AI Devices for Faster Wound Healing

The device integrates an onboard camera with AI to detect the wound along with its current stage of healing and administer appropriate treatments, such as medication or electric fields, to promote faster recovery

Engineers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have introduced “a-Heal,” a smart wearable device that uses artificial intelligence and bioelectronics to expedite the wound healing process.

The device is designed to optimize each stage of healing, including clotting, immune response, scabbing, and scarring.

The device integrates a mini camera with AI to detect the wound along with its current stage of healing and administer appropriate treatments, such as medication or electric fields, to promote faster recovery.

The portability and wireless feature of “a-Heal” is expected to make it an ideal solution for patients with limited mobility or those residing in remote areas with restricted access to medical facilities.

How Does 'a-Heal' Function

The device captures the wound stage every 2 hours through the portable camera, which is then analyzed by the machine learning model, dubbed as the AI physician running on a nearby computer.

Further, the ‘a-Heal’ functions like a microscopic bandage, assessing the wound’s current state and comparing it with the optimal healing timeline. If the wound is delayed, the AI model administers a targeted treatment, either delivering medication through bioelectronics or applying an electric field to stimulate cell migration and accelerate closure.

The device simultaneously uploads the image to the portal, allowing the physicians to monitor and administer the wound.

This reinforcement learning technique of the AI model mirrors the physician’s diagnostic method and reasoning, continuously monitoring the wound and the real-time response to the treatment, and it adjusts the drug dosage or electrical field strength for optimal outcomes.

Reportedly, the research team is further exploring the potential for this device to improve the healing of chronic and infected wounds.

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