A Need for Revolutionary Bandages for Safe Wound Care for Mobility Impaired People
A Novel Solution: Colorful Bandages for Mobility Impaired People
Hardware integration

Created July 28, 2024

Colorful bandages for people with mobility impairments

Color-changing bandages using structural colors ensure safe and accurate pressure for people with mobility impairments.

Runnerup Mobility Impairments

Build2gether 2.0 — Inclusive Innovation Challenge

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32S3 Sense

Seeed Studio Grove Shield for Seeeduino XIAO - with embedded battery management chip

Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 Development Kit

Blues Notecard (Cellular)

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Optical microscope

X-ray Diffraction

Tensile testor

Heat mapper

Story

I think Hackster should be a platform for groundbreaking innovation, showcasing creative ideas that are completely novel and have the potential to bring significant change. It should be a platform to help researchers showcase state-of-the-art ideas from their field of research. While these ideas might be unfeasible as they are too early-stage, Hackster should establish a dedicated section for such visionary ideas that, with further development, could have a transformative impact. Here, I present an extremely novel early-stage idea that is currently under research.

I got this feedback from the Contest Masters, which I integrated to develop this novel idea: "I have problems with swelling and restricted blood flow due to stockings, socks, and wraps getting wrinkled or bunched up, causing a pinch in the skin and restricting flow. It would be good to have some kind of sensor placed in, under, or over a bandage that could measure changes in blood flow or pressure changes from the bandage."

A Need for Revolutionary Bandages for Safe Wound Care for Mobility Impaired People

Individuals afflicted with paralysis, encompassing conditions like monoplegia, paraplegia, or quadriplegia, encounter a significant challenge in the inability to perceive pressure on affected limbs. This poses a critical issue during injuries, as the external application (i.e., from a helper such as a family member) of a bandage becomes intricate without the ability to gauge appropriate pressure levels. Indeed, failure to apply adequate pressure could lead to insufficient wound care, risking infection or inadequate stabilization. Conversely, excessive pressure may result in restricted blood flow, tissue damage, or heightened discomfort, exacerbating the injury's severity. Therefore, we need a mechanism to easily identify the applied pressure when administering bandages on paralyzed limbs.

A Novel Solution: Colorful Bandages for Mobility Impaired People

My proposed solution to address this challenge draws upon the principles of physics, specifically focusing on structural colors. In the realm of physics, colors can be broadly categorized into three types: pigments, self-luminescence, and structural colors. While pigments are commonly observed in everyday objects, self-luminescence involves the generation of light itself, often through mechanisms such as electrical stimulation. Structural colors, conversely, rely on interference phenomena within the material structure to produce coloration. Unlike pigments, which derive their color from selective absorption and reflection of specific wavelengths of light, structural colors arise from the interaction of light with nanostructures within a material. For example, shiny butterflies' wing or peacock feathers are made of structural colors.

Butterfly wings are made of structural colors

Peacock feathers are also made of structural colors

These nanostructures are typically arranged in periodic patterns or layers, causing interference patterns that selectively amplify or attenuate certain wavelengths of light. Structural colors are characterized by their ability to produce vivid and iridescent hues without the use of dyes or pigments. The perceived color depends on factors such as the size, shape, and spacing of the nanostructures, as well as the angle of incident light. This dynamic interplay of light and structure enables structural colors to exhibit unique optical properties, such as iridescence and angle-dependent coloration. In contrast, pigments absorb certain wavelengths of light while reflecting others, imparting color to the objects they are applied to. The perceived color of a pigment-based object depends on the wavelengths of light that are absorbed and reflected by the pigment molecules present in the material. The figure belows explain well the difference between pigment (or dye) and structural colors.

Pigment and Dye versus Structural Colors

The proposed solution entails the development of a bandage incorporating filaments exhibiting structural colors. These filaments would undergo color changes in response to applied pressure, thereby serving as pressure indicators during bandage application. As pressure is exerted on the bandage, the filaments experience strain, altering the interference patterns within their nanostructures. The relationship between pressure and coloration is elucidated through the interference mechanism: increased pressure results in greater filament strain, leading to shifts in the wavelengths of light affected by interference phenomena. Consequently, higher pressure levels correspond to longer wavelengths, manifesting as redder hues in the structural color indicator. Conversely, reduced pressure yields shorter wavelengths and bluer or violet tints in the indicator. This innovative approach leverages the principles of structural coloration to provide a visual indication of pressure levels during bandage application, enhancing precision and efficacy in wound care management. A gif below shows how it works:

Stretchable structural colors filaments to be used for bandages

Hardware integration

The filament is on top of the bandage, meaning the mobility-impaired person can easily see the color to know the pressure applied to the bandage. But how will the mobility-impaired person contact people for help?

The mobility-impaired person can use the Swan v3 board, Notecarrier A, and Notecard Cellular NBGL for IoT connectivity, allowing them to send alerts for help over cellular networks. The XIAO ESP32S3 Sense microcontroller, with its built-in motion detection and microphone, along with Bluetooth capabilities from the Nordic Semiconductor's nRF52840 DK, can facilitate communication and trigger notifications with Bluetooth. The XIAO Grove Shield provides additional battery life and connectivity options, ensuring reliable and sustained operation. Here, in the image below, is the planned setup:

Microscope used

Hardware configurations (I am not professional, plesase be kind)

Code

import cv2
import requests
import time
from machine import Pin, ADC  
from umqtt.simple import MQTTClient  # Example MQTT client for IoT connectivity

# Constants
NORDIC_API_URL = "https://infocenter.nordicsemi.com/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.nordic.infocenter.sdk5.v15.2.0%2Fmodules.html"  # API of Nordic Semiconductor
BLUES_API_URL = "https://dev.blues.io/api-reference/notecard-api/introduction/" # API of Blues
THRESHOLD_PRESSURE = 1000  # threshold value for pressure
HELP_CONTACT_PHONE = HERE PUT THE PHONE NUMBER OF CONTEST MASTER CAREGIVER

# Initialize ADC for pressure sensor
adc = ADC(Pin(32))

# Initialize MQTT client for IoT connectivity
client = MQTTClient("unique_client_id", "broker.hivemq.com")

# Function to detect color (simplified)
def detect_color(image):
    hsv = cv2.cvtColor(image, cv2.COLOR_BGR2HSV)
    # Define range for detecting red color
    lower_red = (0, 120, 70)
    upper_red = (10, 255, 255)
    mask = cv2.inRange(hsv, lower_red, upper_red)
    return cv2.countNonZero(mask) > 0

# Function to read pressure sensor
def read_pressure():
    return adc.read()

# Function to send data over cellular network
def send_data_blues(data):
    response = requests.post(BLUES_API_URL, json=data)
    return response.status_code == 200

# Function to send data over bluetooth network
def send_data_wifi(data):
    response = requests.post(NORDIC_API_URL, json=data)
    return response.status_code == 200

# Main loop
def main():
    cap = cv2.VideoCapture(0)  # Capture from default camera
    while True:
        ret, frame = cap.read()
        if not ret:
            continue
        
        if detect_color(frame):
            pressure = read_pressure()
            data = {"pressure": pressure}
            if pressure > THRESHOLD_PRESSURE:
                send_data_cellular(data)
                send_data_wifi(data)
                notify_help()
        
        time.sleep(1)  # Adjust as needed

# Function to notify help
def notify_help():
    requests.post(HELP_CONTACT_PHONE, json={"message": "Need assistance with bandage"})

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Credits

Jack Siviana

1 project • 1 follower

Comments

Awards

Runnerup Mobility Impairments

Build2gether 2.0 — Inclusive Innovation Challenge

Embed the widget on your own site

Colorful bandages for people with mobility impairments

Colorful bandages for people with mobility impairments

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

A Need for Revolutionary Bandages for Safe Wound Care for Mobility Impaired People

A Novel Solution: Colorful Bandages for Mobility Impaired People

Hardware integration

Code

Code

Credits

Jack Siviana

Comments

Awards