Hands-off Healing
A new medical device developed in Christchurch is set to revolutionise wound care assessment world wide.
ARANZ SilhouetteMobile device
Measuring the healing progress of wounds can be slow and difficult. Deep wounds, such as those caused by diabetic ulcers, are particularly hard to assess. Aging skin is thin and slow to heal, which means a seemingly minor wound can require substantial nursing care.
As it heals, a wound’s colour and texture changes. These changes can be assessed visually by trained staff, but a more accurate method that also records changes was needed. A common method is to place an acetate sheet over the affected area then draw an outline of the wound. The area of the wound can then be calculated by placing the drawing over a grid (usually graph paper). This procedure is reasonably accurate and inexpensive to administer but it doesn’t take the depth of the wound into account. The acetate sheet also makes contact with the wound surface, which can introduce infection and delay healing. An alternative method involves filling the wound with sterile saline, or even a dental moulding material, and measuring the volume. But this method is not suitable for shallow wounds or those occurring in angular areas like the heel.
In recent years researchers have experimented with photography, lasers and computers to capture images of wounds, interpret their area and depth, and record the state of tissue around the wound’s edges. These methods need large and complicated machinery which is often difficult to move or expensive to use.
The team at ARANZ Medical Ltd has succeeded in overcoming these problems with its SilhouetteMobile device, a handheld scanner that is simple to use in clinical settings and records patient data accurately. The unit does not make contact with the patient’s skin but relies on digital photography to capture and analyse an image.
