FOURTEENTH ANNUAL EUROPEAN PRESSURE ULCER ...

Thursday September 1st
Proceedings of the 14th Annual European Pressure Ulcer Meeting
Oporto, Portugal
Pressure Ulcer Assessment
Marco Romanelli, Valentina Dini, Isabella Banchini, Alice Canale, Sabrina Barbanera.
Introduction
Department of Dermatology, University of Pisa, Italy, m.romanelli@med.unipi.it
Assessment of cutaneous wounds in
order to detect the progression of a
disease is a routine part of medical
practice. Although measurement
technology has evolved continuously
over the years in all fields of
medicine, its direct application to
cutaneous disorders has increased
only in recent years (1). In fact, only
over the past decade has significant
research been undertaken to further
develop techniques for specifically
examining the skin. Advances in both
the technology of imaging and
computer systems have greatly
supported this process and brought it
closer to the clinical area. The authors
present a new wound measurement and
documentation system.
Methods
We collected wound planimetry in 30 patients
affected by pressure ulcers. To estimate the
repeatability and the reproducibility of wound
assessment, 2 female students participated
in this study. The intra- and inter-rater
reliability of measurement were observed
using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)
and Bland-Altman test.
Results
No statistically significant differences were
found between scans evaluated by 2
investigators about wound area and depth.
The ICC values were excellent either for
intra- or inter-rater reproducibility with a very
low relative error value. The intra- and interrater
measurement were demonstrated to be
reliable as indicated by high ICC values (>
0.80). The mean ± SD time for a full scan
67
acquisition on the wound area and depth was
2.2 ±1.2 minutes.
Discussion
The scanner was found to be accurate and
reliable, easy to learn and use, portable and
compact. The results presented suggest that
this device may be a viable choice in the
management of different types of chronic
wounds.
Clinical relevance
Wound measurement is essential in
assessing the progress of wound healing.
The most commonly used tools include
wound tracing, width and length
measurements, and digital photography.
This innovative device combines a digital
camera and structured lighting in the form of
2 laser beams to automatically correct for
image scale and skin curvature, allowing
rapid and accurate measurements of the
wound surface area and depth.
Acknowledgements
We appreciate the help of Mrs. Graziana
Battaglia
Conflict of Interest: None
References
[1] Schultz G, Mozingo D, Romanelli M,
Claxton K. Wound healing and TIME: new
concepts and scientific applications. Wound
Rep Regen 2005; 13 (4): S1-S11.
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