Wireless suture technology can update your doctor on your health

It seems that in every sci-fi movie, humans have microchips implanted in them that track our health from the inside. But technology may make such fantasies into realities. Engineers at Tufts University engineers have introduced "smart thread" with nano-sensors that can gather diagnostic data in real time.

Using tiny sensors, electronics and microfluidics dipped in sensing compounds, the new thread was sutured into threads through multiple layers of tissue. The technology is then able to collect information on the patient wirelessly. The sutures collect data on tissue health, pH levels, glucose levels, infections and body chemistry. The sutures are able to fit and be used in all manner of structures, from organs to wounds to orthopedic implants.

Researchers believe these threads make the next step in wearable technology.

"The ability to suture a thread-based diagnostic device intimately in a tissue or organ environment in three dimensions adds a unique feature that is not available with other flexible diagnostic platforms," said Sameer Sonkusale, PhD, corresponding author on the paper and director of the interdisciplinary Nano Lab in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Tufts University's School of Engineering. "We think thread-based devices could potentially be used as smart sutures for surgical implants, smart bandages to monitor wound healing, or integrated with textile or fabric as personalized health monitors and point-of-care diagnostics."

Researchers are continuing to develop the technology by studying how these sutures perform in long-term and if they remain biocompatible.