Systems, apparatuses, and methods for providing negative pressure and/or instillation fluids to a tissue site are disclosed. Some embodiments are illustrative of an apparatus or system for delivering negative-pressure and/or therapeutic solution of fluids to a tissue site, which can be used in conjunction with sensing properties of fluids extracted from a tissue site and/or instilled at a tissue site. For example, an apparatus may comprise a dressing interface or connector that includes a pH sensor, a humidity sensor, a temperature sensor and/or a pressure sensor embodied on a single pad within the connector and proximate the tissue site to provide data indicative of acidity, humidity, temperature and pressure. Such apparatus may further comprise algorithms for processing such data for detecting leakage and blockage as well as providing information relating to the progression of healing of wounds at the tissue site. An illustrative method may comprise positioning a dressing interface having a pH sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, and a pressure sensor at a tissue site, and applying reduced pressure to the dressing interface to draw fluids from the tissue interface in contact with the sensors to sense the pH, temperature, humidity, and pressure properties of the fluids flowing from the tissue site. The method may further comprise providing fluid data indicative of such properties to a processing element for processing the fluid data, and transmitting the data to another component in the system.

Augmented wound dressing systems may include traditional wound dressing components and one or more sensor devices such as accelerometers, humidity monitors, temperature monitors, electrocardiography leads, and/or oximetry sensors. Measurements from the sensor devices may be used to monitor one or more aspects of patient and/or wound health. In addition, or alternatively, one or more images of a wound that may be taken over time may be analyzed and/or compared with one another to determine one or more characteristics of the wound in order to, for example, assess wound health/healing and determine whether an intervention is necessary to assist with wound healing.

A wound dressing for wireless communication with a transceiver includes a radio-frequency antenna circuit disposed on a flexible substrate, and an electrochemical moisture sensor circuit disposed on a surface of the flexible substrate. An adhesive is provided to attach the wound dressing skin of a user. The electrochemical moisture sensor is arranged between the adhesive and the flexible substrate.

An image coding method includes: performing context arithmetic coding to consecutively code (i) first information indicating whether or not to perform sample adaptive offset (SAO) processing for a first region of an image and (ii) second information indicating whether or not to use, in the SAO processing for the first region, information on SAO processing for a region other than the first region, the context arithmetic coding being arithmetic coding using a variable probability, the SAO processing being offset processing on a pixel value; and performing bypass arithmetic coding to code other information which is information on the SAO processing for the first region and different from the first information or the second information, after the first information and the second information are coded, the bypass arithmetic coding being arithmetic coding using a fixed probability.

A composite wound dressing apparatus promotes healing of a wound via the use of a micropump system housed within or above a wound dressing member. The micropump system includes a miniature pump that applies a subatmospheric pressure to the wound to effectively draw wound fluid or exudate away from the wound bed without the need for a cumbersome external vacuum source. Hence, the wound dressing and micropump system is portable which allows the patient mobility that is unavailable when an external vacuum source is used. The patient does not need to be constrained for any period of time while exudate is being removed from the wound.

An absorbent structure, including a sensor system, can sense and measure the level of wetness contained within the absorbent structure as well as sense and measure environmental conditions. The sensor system may include passive RFID sensors or tags, RFID readers, antenna, a tuning module, a processing module, a memory module and a wireless communication module. The absorbent structure may further include two or more sensors, with a first sensor placed in a first area most likely to first be exposed to liquid and a second sensor spaced apart from the first sensor in an area likely to be exposed to liquid only after the absorbent structure has become more saturated.

An absorbent structure, including a sensor system, can sense and measure the level of wetness contained within the absorbent structure as well as sense and measure environmental conditions. The sensor system may include passive RFID sensors or tags, RFID readers, antenna, a tuning module, a processing module, a memory module and a wireless communication module. The absorbent structure may further include two or more sensors, with a first sensor placed in a first area most likely to first be exposed to liquid and a second sensor spaced apart from the first sensor in an area likely to be exposed to liquid only after the absorbent structure has become more saturated.

A wound dressing for wireless communication with a transceiver includes a radio-frequency antenna circuit disposed on a flexible substrate, and an electrochemical moisture sensor circuit disposed on a surface of the flexible substrate. An adhesive is provided to attach the wound dressing skin of a user. The electrochemical moisture sensor is arranged between the adhesive and the flexible substrate.

A composite wound dressing apparatus promotes healing of a wound via the use of a micropump system housed within or above a wound dressing member. The micropump system includes a miniature pump that applies a subatmospheric pressure to the wound to effectively draw wound fluid or exudate away from the wound bed without the need for a cumbersome external vacuum source. Hence, the wound dressing and micropump system is portable which allows the patient mobility that is unavailable when an external vacuum source is used. The patient does not need to be constrained for any period of time while exudate is being removed from the wound.

A wound dressing for wireless communication with a transceiver includes a radio-frequency antenna circuit disposed on a flexible substrate, and an electrochemical moisture sensor circuit disposed on a surface of the flexible substrate. An adhesive is provided to attach the wound dressing skin of a user. The electrochemical moisture sensor is arranged between the adhesive and the flexible substrate.