USING INFRARED IMAGING TO ASSESS THE SEVERITY OF PRESSURE ULCERS

This study describes the use of infrared thermography to non-invasivel y assess severity and depth of pressure injuries in dermal and subderm al tissue. Two techniques were investigated: 1) thermographic evaluati on of wounds at thermal equilibrium with normal room temperature surro undings, and 2) observation of the temperature changes that occur to t he wound area after the application of focal cooling. A series of expe riments was performed using a porcine model in which standardized temp erature-modulated pressure injuries were assessed by infrared thermogr aphy. Wound status (severity and depth) was also determined by histolo gical classification. Correlations were then sought between thermograp hic data and wound status. Our results showed that deep-tissue injurie s may be easily distinguished from shallow wounds by their thermal res ponse to focal cooling. These findings are consistent with a basic sch ema for heat transfer in deep-tissue injuries that is proposed here. T his method is considered to have clinical utility for detecting absces sed areas of skeletal muscle that are concealed by a healthy epidermal or dermal bridge.