Assessment of Leg Ulcer Microcirculation

National Institute Of Biomedical Imaging And Bioengineering, Bethesda

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Abstract

IR photography has several advantages for wound assessment. First, our preliminary study shows that IR photography is capable of measuring ulcer area non-invasively in real time, and it has the potential to be automated and fully objective. Second, the epithelialization layer is transparent to the human eye, but less so to IR signals. Standard measurement techniques rely on tissue color, whereas IR photography relies on greater evaporative cooling of the non-epithelialized surface. Third, intermodal differences between IR and visible light photography measurements are independent of ulcer size, whereas ruler measurements show larger intermodal differences in size for larger ulcers. Fourth, ulcer heterogeneity in IR photography may indicate signatures of healing, in particular, epithelialization and granulation. Finally, ulcers can be visualized through thin dressings using IR imaging, which could reduce the need to expose ulcers to the air for real-time wound health assessment. Gorbach AM, Ackerman HC, Liu WM, Meyer JM, Littel PL, Seamon C, Footman E, Chi A, Zorca S, Krajewski ML, Cuttica MJ, Machado RF, Cannon RO, Kato GJ (2012) Infrared imaging of nitric oxide-mediated blood flow in human sickle cell disease. Microvasc Res, in press (e-pub ahead of print). Scully C, Lee J, Meyer J, Gorbach A, Granquist-Fraser D, Mendelson Y, Chon K (2011) Physiological Parameter Monitoring from Optical Recordings with a Mobile Phone. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, in press (e-pub ahead of print).