A U.K. company has developed an imaging device that can be used create a 3-D model of wounds or scars that could improve the way in which diabetic wounds are measured and characterized.
The device, developed by Eykona Medical in Oxford, consists of two cameras and four flash units in one small mobile piece of equipment According to an article in ElectronicsWeekly.com, the device would replace current techniques such as naked eye assessment, tracing paper and pencil, dipstick measurements and resin casts.
Another article in Medical Technology Business (MTB) Europe reports that the device builds a 3-D image and uses software to measure size, depth and skin tone at a sub-millimeter level. Changes in wounds can be recorded over time, giving physicians better understanding how they are healing, and providing them with an opportunity to change treatment plans, if needed.
"One of the risks of inaccurate measurement and treatment of diabetic wounds is amputation, with 50 percent of people who have a major amputations dying within two years," James Patterson, one of the system's inventors, said, according to MTB Europe. "Through the ... system, many of these amputations could be avoided through more precise, efficient and effective care resulting from accurate 3-D measurement."
The device currently is being used by the Royal Center for Defense Medicine to help treat wounds of soldiers in Afghanistan. According to Eykona, the device costs less than 5,000 pounds (roughly $7,955) and requires little maintenance.
For more:
- read the article in ElectricsWeekly.com
- read the article in Medical Technology Business Europe