Remember when you were young and you would wear those Band-Aids with pictures of cartoon characters? Right, this is pretty much nothing like that.
German researchers from the Fraunhofer Research Institute in Munich have developed a bandage that uses a new indicator dye to change colour if there is an infection. Depending on the pH value of the wound (the normal human value for healed skin and wounds is around 5, if it rises to 6.5 or 8.5 there is an infection) the bandage changes from a clear colour to purple, purple meaning you should probably get it checked out. And panic.
Yes, this is a small innovation, but it could make medical care much easier, especially in third-world countries. It's obviously safer to let the wound heal safely beneath the bandage rather than remove the bandage (especially with potentially dirty hands) every few hours to check for infection. Let's hope this new design is implemented into mainstream brands; not rarely small innovations can make a big difference and can inspire other inventors and visionaries to design even more advanced creations.
Feo.
