Awards & Recognition2008 Bagley College of Engineering Student Hall of Fame Inductees

ICHVE Call for Papers

Defeating Defenses

Gateway to West

BCoE & MSU Quick LinkBagley College of Engineering

BCoE Newsroom

BCoE Podcasts

Momentum

Mississippi State University

MSU Newsroom

MSU Student Express

Alumni Foundation

Giving

A “smart” adhesive bandage may in the future help us all avoid those apprehensive lab visits that require needle pokes for blood samples. Thanks to a Bagley College of Engineering professor who is conducting innovative research, many cholesterol, insulin and blood chemistry test procedures may be transformed.

While Ray Winton isn’t a doctor or medical researcher, groundbreaking research by the electrical engineering professor could change the way medical experts make medical diagnosis. Winston calls his concept “smart” adhesive bandages; devices that perform medical procedures which scan the skin rather than of breaking it.

“You put it on somebody and it reads information,” Winton said. “It can read parts of people’s biochemistry through their skin.”

With a patent and another in the works associated with his research, Winton expects another year or two before his technology is ready for the marketplace. The research that can lead to “smart” bandages and other types of products associated with it is only about four years old.

The key behind Winton’s invention is his adhesive bandages need no battery or other on-board power source. The power source used for tiny integrated circuits to detect information like cholesterol comes from picking up radio-frequency power by an antenna, making the power source virtually infinite.

After the sensors detect specific information, the adhesive bandages can be read to indicate medical diagnostics. As Winton continues to refine the process to read the tiny sensors, he said it may take a few hours to read information on the bandages.

While Winton’s research is all his own, many parts of the concept and commercial aspects of it are a family affair. Winton’s son, a medical doctor, gave him the idea to apply his technology toward the medical field, and the electrical engineering professor’s younger brother created a start-up company developing the technology.

Winton’s research has potential for other applications too. He welcomes partnering with a cell phone chipset company regarding his technology to triple phone battery charges.
With possibilities of making substantial profits with the technology, Winton said he has no plans to leave his career at MSU. He works with the university’s Office of Technology Commercialization to help with marketing and finding potential clients for his company.

“I kind of like what I do, researching and teaching students,” Winton said. “If I pursued this company on my own, it would be a full-time job.”