Title: Pre-clinical development of a wound infection sensor
Funder: Department of Health and Social Care

Abstract: What are our aims? SmartWound Ltd is a small company started by academics and clinicians from Bath and Bristol. The purpose of the company is to create a suite of sensors for detecting wound infection at early stages. The sensor closest to clinical use is called SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE, which gives a simple colour change when a wound swab is placed in it, if the wound is infected. The SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE infection detection kits, co-designed by patients, clinicians and researchers, have been made on a small scale in a laboratory. The kits now need to be produced by a medical manufacturer, and safety-tested. SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE kits also need to be confirmed as cost-effective and to be tested to make sure that they are easy to use, and the results are clearly understandable. Why is detecting infection important? Treating infection costs health services billions every year. Infection causes pain and future scarring affecting patients lives. The problem is that doctors cannot easily tell if a wound is infected. Infection is suspected if the wound is red or hot. But the wound could be red and hot for other reasons. There are currently no reliable and quick tests that tell if the wound is infected and needs treatment. So why not just give the patient antibiotics? Antibiotics should only be used to treat known infections caused by bacteria. If we use antibiotics all the time, the bacteria will adapt and ultimately stop antibiotics working. This means eventually doctors will have no way of treating infection. What can SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE do? SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE is a low cost, simple to use, easy to understand test of infection needing treatment at the bedside. The test requires no extra equipment or training and gives a result in under an hour (often 20 minutes). How to use SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE The test kit includes a normal medical swab and a tube of the SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE detector solution. The swab collects material from the wound and is then put in the solution. A colour change means the wound is infected. How will the results of SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE be shared? Press releases, web page blogs, conference talks as well as scientific and popular press journal articles will broadcast results and the impact of the project.

Lay abstract: What are our aims? SmartWound Ltd is a small company started by academics and clinicians from Bath and Bristol. The purpose of the company is to create a suite of sensors for detecting wound infection at early stages. The sensor closest to clinical use is called SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE, which gives a simple colour change when a wound swab is placed in it, if the wound is infected. The SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE infection detection kits, co-designed by patients, clinicians and researchers, have been made on a small scale in a laboratory. The kits now need to be produced by a medical manufacturer, and safety-tested. SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE kits also need to be confirmed as cost-effective and to be tested to make sure that they are easy to use, and the results are clearly understandable. Why is detecting infection important? Treating infection costs health services billions every year. Infection causes pain and future scarring affecting patients lives. The problem is that doctors cannot easily tell if a wound is infected. Infection is suspected if the wound is red or hot. But the wound could be red and hot for other reasons. There are currently no reliable and quick tests that tell if the wound is infected and needs treatment. So why not just give the patient antibiotics? Antibiotics should only be used to treat known infections caused by bacteria. If we use antibiotics all the time, the bacteria will adapt and ultimately stop antibiotics working. This means eventually doctors will have no way of treating infection. What can SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE do? SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE is a low cost, simple to use, easy to understand test of infection needing treatment at the bedside. The test requires no extra equipment or training and gives a result in under an hour (often 20 minutes). How to use SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE The test kit includes a normal medical swab and a tube of the SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE detector solution. The swab collects material from the wound and is then put in the solution. A colour change means the wound is infected. How will the results of SmartWound&reg;-RESOLVE be shared? Press releases, web page blogs, conference talks as well as scientific and popular press journal articles will broadcast results and the impact of the project.

Research activity codes: 4.1 DISCOVERY AND PRECLINICAL TESTING OF MARKERS AND TECHNOLOGIES
Health categories: INFECTION