Smart bandages using real-time 5G technology to monitor the treatment process of the wounds will begin a trial period within the next 12 months. Led by Swansea University's Institute of Life Science, the study allows physicians to tailor treatment processes according to patients' needs.

Speaking to the BBC, Professor Marc Clement, chairman of the Institute of Life Science, said: "5G is an opportunity to produce resilient, robust bandwidth that is always there for the purpose of healthcare. That intelligent dressing uses nano-technology to sense the state of that wound at any one specific time.

It would connect that wound to a 5G infrastructure and that infrastructure through your telephone will also know things about you - where you are, how active you are at any one time. You combine all of that intelligence so the clinician knows the performance of the specific wound at any specific time and can then tailor the treatment protocol to the individual and wound in question."