Investigating Wound Infection Status via Electrochemical Sensors v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the Ability of Disposable Electrochemical Sensors to Detect Wound Infection Through Measurements of Paediatric Burn Wound Swabs and Used Dressings
IRAS ID
277069
Contact name
Helen McDevitt
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
Infection can be detrimental to the wound healing process, significantly prolonging recovery times and potentially leading to further serious complications and illnesses. Currently the detection of wound infection relies upon the observation of patient symptoms, followed by sampling (often via swabbing), and a series of selective culturing techniques performed by expert staff. This ‘gold standard’ testing method is time-consuming and it is typical for even initial microbiology results to take a minimum of 48 hours to be obtained. Development of an in-situ infection detection device, such as the sensor being tested in this investigation, could enable far more rapid detection and identification of bacterial infection and reduce the mortality rate and long-term adverse outcomes associated with sepsis. Ultimately, the sensor would reduce unnecessary disturbances of the wound and dressing changes, and enable the most appropriate targeted treatment (such as antibiotics) to be selected far earlier than currently possible.
This study aims to test the feasibility of using electrochemical sensors to detect burn wound infection. This will be done via impedance measurements of rehydrated wound swabs and wound dressings using a disposable sensor over several hours. Swabs and wound dressings will be obtained from paediatric patients at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow who have a burn wound. Samples will be transported for laboratory rehydration, measurement and analysis at the University of Strathclyde’s flagship Technology and Innovation Centre. A comparison will be made between patients with wounds which show clinical signs of infection, and those which do not. Additionally, the agreement between the hospital microbiology laboratory analysis and the impedance sensor analysis will be assessed.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/NW/0324
Date of REC Opinion
8 Sep 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion