Objective:
Negative pressure wound treatment (NPWT) is a widely used and effective treatment of chronic wounds. However, disadvantages related to inadequate vacuum pressure were reported, including bleeding, pain, tissue damage, air leakage, and reflux of exudate. This study aimed to develop a smart negative pressure wound therapy system to keep the pressure stationary to improve wound healing.

Material and Methods:
The smart negative pressure wound therapy device was composed of four components: negative pressure engine, Bluetooth signal receiving system, parametric control unit, and APP surveillance system. By connecting these systems, we could keep vacuum pressure within a stationary range. Furthermore, the stability of vacuum pressure can be detected by mobile APP immediately. We compared the differences of clinical outcome of wound healing and cytokines in wound exudate between the smart system and commercially available system.

Results:
Among 20 participants, 9 patients received smart negative pressure wound therapy system and 11 received the therapy with commercially available instruments as control group. The outcome of the smart system was not inferior to the control group in improvement of wound size. Moreover, in the analysis of wound cytokines, VEGF, EGF and ANG increased in the smart system group.

Conclusions:
The smart negative pressure wound therapy system can monitor the vacuum pressure effectively. Compared with commercially available instruments, it has the advantages of early detection of pressure stability and enhanced wound healing with more growth factors in the wound.