Premium
Clinical utilization of near‐infrared spectroscopy devices for burn depth assessment
Author(s) -
Cross K. M.,
Leonardi L.,
Payette J. R.,
Gomez M.,
Levasseur M. A.,
Schattka B. J.,
Sowa M. G.,
Fish J. S.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
wound repair and regeneration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.847
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1524-475X
pISSN - 1067-1927
DOI - 10.1111/j.1524-475x.2007.00235.x
Subject(s) - medicine , near infrared spectroscopy , hemoglobin , burn injury , oxygenation , deoxygenated hemoglobin , burn wound , oxygen saturation , hemodynamics , biomedical engineering , surgery , nuclear medicine , oxygen , anesthesia , chemistry , wound healing , optics , physics , organic chemistry
The diagnosis of burn depth is based on a visual assessment and can be subjective. Near‐infrared (NIR) spectroscopic devices were used preclinically with positive results. The purpose of this study was to test the devices in a clinical setting using easily identifiable burn wounds. Adult patients with acute superficial and full‐thickness burns were enrolled. NIR point spectroscopy and imaging devices were used to collect hemodynamic data from the burn site and an adjacent unburned control site. Oxy‐hemoglobin and deoxy‐hemoglobin concentrations were extracted from spectroscopic data and reported as oxygen saturation and total hemoglobin. Sixteen patients ( n =16) were included in the study with equal numbers in both burn wound groups. Point spectroscopy data showed an increase in oxygen saturation ( p <0.0095) and total hemoglobin (<0.0001) in comparison with the respective control areas for superficial burn wounds. The opposite was true for full‐thickness burns, which showed a decrease in oxygenation ( p <0.0001) and total hemoglobin ( p <0.0147) in comparison with control areas. NIR imaging technology provides an estimate of hemodynamic parameters and could easily distinguish superficial and full‐thickness burn wounds. These results confirm that NIR devices can successfully distinguish superficial and full‐thickness burn injuries.