ABSTRACT
Chronic wounds or ulcers are wounds that do not heal in the usual manner. This type of wound is most common in the elderly and in paraplegic patients with an estimated 1% of the population suffering from leg ulcers and the costs adding up to 4% of the annual National Health Service budget in the U.K. There is an identified need to develop a device capable of remote wound monitoring that enables patients to take charge of their wound management under clinical guidance. A new ¿wound mapping¿ device has been developed, which is based on electrical impedance spectroscopy and involves the multifrequency characterization of the electrical properties of wound tissue under an electrode array. A key feature of the prototype device is the anticipated incorporation of the measuring array into standard commercial occlusive dressings, thereby protecting the wound from interference and contamination, and thus, promoting wound healing, while monitoring the protected wound. Further development is planned including wireless transmission, thus enabling telewound monitoring as described earlier.
Subject(s)
Electric Impedance , Spectrum Analysis/methods , Telemetry , Ulcer/pathology , Wound Healing , Algorithms , Chronic Disease , Humans , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted , Reproducibility of Results , Telemetry/instrumentation , Telemetry/methodsABSTRACT
A new device has been developed for the application of Electrical Stimulation to improve healing of chronic wounds. The device enables the creation of a composite electrode hence matching the electrode(s) to the size and shape of the wound. Up to 49 electrodes in an array can be combined, delivering High Voltage Pulsed Current (HVPC) in the range 60-120 Hz with a pulse duration range from 90-110 mus and the possibility of treating the patient with direct current instead of HVPC. In addition, the software can import the measurements from the ImpediMap device, analysing the electrical impedance of the tissues involved. A test on healthy volunteers did not prove a statistically significant rise in skin temperature, TcPO2 or impedance due to the stimulation, even though a slight reddening of the stimulated site was observed.
Subject(s)
Electric Stimulation Therapy/methods , Electrodes , Wound Healing/physiology , Wounds and Injuries/therapy , Chronic Disease/therapy , Cicatrix/prevention & control , Electric Impedance , Electric Stimulation Therapy/instrumentation , Equipment Design , Humans , Muscle Contraction/physiology , Skin Temperature/physiology , Smallpox/therapyABSTRACT
A new instrument has been developed enabling clinicians to map and study the healing process of a wound. Early assessment of the instrument demonstrated promising results both during bench testing as well as during initial in vivo measurements on a skin abrasion. Clear differences between healthy and wounded tissue were demonstrated and a pattern was observed, potentially indicative of the healing process for this particular wound.
