WOUND STATUS EVALUATION USING COLOR IMAGE-PROCESSING

An accurate diagnosis of burns and pressure ulcers in the early stages can be made by computerized image processing, This study describes a critical assessment of potential methodologies for noninvasive wound e valuation using a color imaging system, We also developed a method for quantifying histological readings and applied these techniques to a p orcine animal model of wound formation, Differences in calibrated hue between injured and noninjured skin provided a repeatable differentiat ion of wound severity for situations when the time of injury was known . This color analysis allowed statistically significant differentiatio n of mild, moderate, and severe injuries within 30 minutes after the a pplication of the injury. It was more difficult to distinguish wound s everity one to four days later, however the correlation re-emerged cr: hen the wounds were five to seven days old, This technique could be ad apted for assessing and tracking wound severity in humans in a clinica l setting.