I-Corps: A Novel Multi Wavelength Spectroscopy Technique for Assessing Tissue Health

I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是改进对影响组织内血管健康的压力性溃疡等疾病的诊断。这项技术的目标是通过早期检测来防止压力损伤，从而使高危患者免受疼痛、感染和生活质量下降的影响。采用该技术的医院可以降低医院获得性压力伤害率（医院的一个关键质量指标），每避免一次压力伤害可节省数千美元的成本，并有效利用资源。由于所提出的技术可以在入院时识别不可见的压力损伤，它可以确保住院前形成的溃疡得到更及时的治疗。通过组织健康评估，可以尽早识别和治疗压迫性损伤，以阻止其发展到后期，更难以愈合的阶段。最后，目前的主观视觉评估需要多名护士在入院时对患者进行检查。通过监测皮肤表面下的组织健康状况，只需要一名护士（或护士助理）进行评估，使医院能够更有效地利用有限的人力资源。I-Corps项目的基础是开发便携式多波长频谱分析仪，用于评估组织健康状况。该技术通过在组织表面投射不同波长的光，并分析被反射回来的光的特性来工作。该设备被设计用于测量组织健康指标，如组织氧合（StO2）和血液灌注等。与目前的评估方法相比，该设备消除了与视觉评估方法相关的主观性，提供了检测潜在的不可见压力损伤的能力，并增加了可及性。StO2测量也适用于涉及组织健康的广泛用例。该装置可用于其他应用，包括外周动脉疾病（PAD）测试、烧伤评估和重建手术后组织活力评估。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to improve the diagnosis of diseases such as pressure ulcers that affect vascular health within the tissue. The goal of this technology is to prevent pressure injuries through early detection, which saves at-risk patients from pain, infection, and decreased quality of life. Hospitals that adopt this technology may be able to decrease their hospital-acquired pressure injury rates, a key quality metric for hospitals, save thousands of dollars in costs per pressure injury averted, and utilize resources effectively. Because the proposed technology may identify non-visible pressure injuries upon admission, it may ensure those ulcers formed prior to hospital stay are treated more promptly. Through tissue health evaluation, pressure injuries may be identified and treated as early as possible to hinder progression to later, more difficult-to-heal stages. Finally, current subjective visual assessments require multiple nurses to examine patients upon admission to the hospital. By monitoring tissue health beneath the skin’s surface, only one nurse (or nurse assistant) is necessary to make the assessment, allowing hospitals to utilize limited personnel resources more efficiently. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a portable, multi-wavelength spectrum analyzer that is designed to assess tissue health. The proposed technology works by projecting different wavelengths of light on the surface of the tissue and analyzing the properties of the light that are reflected back. The proposed device is designed to measure tissue health metrics such as tissue oxygenation (StO2) and blood perfusion among others. Compared to current assessment methods, the proposed device eliminates the subjectivity associated with visual assessment methods, provides the ability to detect potentially non-visible pressure injuries, and increases accessibility. The StO2 measurement is also applicable to a wide range of use cases involving tissue health. The proposed device may be utilized for additional applications including peripheral artery disease (PAD) testing, burn assessments, and the evaluation of tissue viability after reconstructive surgery.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.