Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
5-31-1987
Degree Name
Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering - (M.S.)
Department
Biomedical Engineering Committee
First Advisor
Prithviraj Mukherji
Second Advisor
David S. Kristol
Third Advisor
Peter Engler
Abstract
The need for a reliable and accurate method for assessing the surface area of burn wounds currently exists in the branch of medicine involved with burn care and treatment. The percentage of the body affected by burns, measured by the percent total burn surface area, is of critical importance in evaluating fluid replacement amounts and nutritional support during the first 24 hours of postburn therapy. A simple technique has been developed which facilitates the measurement of burned areas non-invasively. Directly measuring burn surfaces yields quantitative results which can be used in assessing the extent of burns, monitoring the healing progression of the wounds, and evaluating the efficacy of pharmaceutical agents that are used in long term burn therapy. The technique involves projecting an orthogonal grid onto the surface to be measured, and capturing the image on videotape for processing by a digitizer. It is supported by an easy-to-use interactive software program, Linear Area Mapping for Burns and Differential Analysis (LAMBDA), designed especially for use by medical professionals in a clinical environment. LAMBDA performs two functions: 1) It provides a direct front-end interface to the imaging system with its accompanying data acquisition software, IMAGE, and 2) it provides a screen—based interactive utility for the capture of patient and diagnostic information which is then stored as individual records. Patient records are accessed individually to evaluate burn areas, perform differential area analyses of wound sites, and determine fluid resuscitation requirements. This method is very cost effective relative to similar imaging systems currently on the market.
In order to determine the scope of this technique, experiments were conducted for the simplest cases in which the areas of three shapes of known area were analyzed using two dimensional projections and the LAMBDA algorithm. Results from the LAMBDA algorithm were compared with the known values and were found to be in agreement within 3%. Similar analyses were performed in which the three dimensionality of the human body was simulated as cylinders. The three shapes were affixed to the surface of the cylinder and their areas were determined for several cylinder diameters from two dimensional projections. By correlating the curvature of the surface to the respective deviation in area caused by the loss of information associated with the three dimensional to two dimensional projection, the surface area is correctible in the final analysis using empirical correction curves. This results in a corrected surface area measurement with a percent deviation of less than 3%. The low cost, ease of use, and demonstrated efficacy of this computer imaging method makes it a desirable alternative to current methods and provides the burn care specialist with a sterile, safe, and effective diagnostic tool in assessing and investigating burn areas.
Recommended Citation
Rath, Sarmishtha Meeta, "The non-contacting surface area assessment of burn wounds using computer imaging methods" (1987). Theses. 3305.
https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/theses/3305
