The Use of High Frequency Ultrasonography in the Prediction of Burn Depth

Clinical utilization of near‐infrared spectroscopy devices for burn depth assessment

“…11 The interpretation of this interface can be difficult and it is hard to discern whether the deeper signals are deep dermal plexus blood flow or in fact the dermal-fat interface. 10 An acoustic interface in burn tissue suggests that there is a certain ''cutoff'' level within the skin whereby everything above a level is nonviable and below is viable. This concept is difficult to apply to burn wounds as they are dynamic with significant variability in all levels of the tissue.…”

“…47 Eschar and interstitial edema have made it difficult for other technologies, such as laser Doppler and ultrasound, to assess blood flow accurately. 3,4,10,11 NIR can penetrate deep into the tissue and can reach depths from 2 to 10 cm, which is appropriate for the interrogation of skin. 48,49 In addition, NIR is able to measure the water concentration and is therefore not affected by edema.…”

“…A wide range of diagnostic tools has been reported in the literature such as laser doppler, various dyes, ultrasonography, thermography, nuclear magnetic resonance, and optical coherence tomography. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] To date, none of these technologies have achieved widespread clinical acceptance or utilization. 3,5,18 A promising new tool in the area of trauma and burns is Near Infrared (NIR) Spectroscopy and its ability to assess hemodynamic information.…”

Technology Assessment and Roadmap for the Emergency Radiation Dose Assessment Program

“…This requirement was necessary so that deep dermal damage could be separated from epidermal necrosis and from thermal injury near the subcutaneous fat layer. The technique received a patent through the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and was subsequently licensed into the private sector where the technique has matured with improvement in ultrasound technology (Adams, Murphy, Gillespie and Roberts, 2000;Bauer and Sauer, 1989). The use of pulse-echo ultrasound is a stable clinical technique for ascertaining burn depth (Goans 1985).…”

Near infrared point and imaging spectroscopy for burn depth assessment

“…The limitations of a subjective visual assessment of burn wounds have led many researchers to search for an objective technique to accurately judge burn depth. A wide range of diagnostic tools has been reported in the literature but none to date have achieved widespread clinical acceptance or utilization [3][4][5][6][7][8]. A promising new tool in the area of burn depth determination is Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) and its ability to evaluate the hemodynamic parameters of burn wounds.…”