Erythema and deep tissue injury detector

描述(由申请人提供)： 对于活动和感觉受损的人来说，压疮仍然是一个严重的继发性并发症。它们影响老年人和许多残疾人，包括脊髓损伤、多发性硬化症、中风、截肢和痴呆症。治疗压疮的医疗费用估计高达数十亿美元，但以人的标准衡量的溃疡费用很容易超过医保费用，其中可能包括失业、独立和死亡。压疮被联邦政府列入2010年健康人和国家质量论坛(NQF)，被确定为公共卫生问题。压疮的发展有几种方式，但其进展可以大致分为两类。有些溃疡是在表皮和真皮受到缺血性损伤后表面开始的。这些溃疡开始于以持续性红斑为特征的I期溃疡。因为深色皮肤的人很难看到红斑，黑人和深色皮肤的西班牙裔人患溃疡的风险更高。另一种类型的压疮开始于组织深处，通常是在潜在的骨隆起水平。这种深层组织损伤不会被发现，直到它向表面发展，并表现为瘀伤或变色。这两种溃疡的病因都将从早期发现中受益匪浅。然而，护士和护士助理目前无法获得技术，他们通常负责皮肤检查。该项目的总体目标是开发和测试成像技术，用于临床负担得起的便携式设备，以识别早期压疮和深层组织损伤。这种红斑和深层组织损伤(E&DTI)检测器将用于与有患压疮风险的人合作的医疗从业者。该设备的预期影响是增强临床医生对皮肤的视觉评估，以防止压疮的发生。一个重要的关注点是对自体黑色素患者的增强检测，在这些人中，视觉检查是有问题的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Pressure ulcers continue to be a serious secondary complication for people with impaired mobility and sensation. They affect older people and persons with many disabilities including spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, stroke, amputation and dementia. The cost in health care dollars to heal pressure ulcers, estimated to cost billions of dollars, is easily surpassed by the cost of ulcers measured in human terms, which can include loss of employment, independence and death. Pressure ulcers have been identified as a public health concern by the federal government via inclusion in Healthy People 2010 and by the National Quality Forum (NQF). Pressure ulcers develop in several ways, but their progression can be roughly grouped into two classes. Some ulcers begin superficially after ischemic damage to the epidermis and dermis. These ulcers begin as Stage I ulcers that are characterized by persistent erythema. Because erythema is hard to visualize in persons with dark skin, Blacks and dark skin Hispanics are at increased risk of ulcer development. The other type of pressure ulcer starts deep in tissue, typically at the level of an underlying bony prominence. This deep tissue injury goes undetected until it progresses toward the surface and presents as a bruising or discoloration. Both these etiologies of ulcers would greatly benefit from early detection. However, technology is currently unavailable to nurses and nurse assistants, who are typically charged with skin inspections. The overall goal of the project is the development and testing of imaging technology to be used in a clinically-affordable and portable device to identify incipient pressure ulcers and deep tissue injury. This erythema and deep tissue injury (E&DTI) detector will be used by healthcare practitioners who work with people who are at risk of developing pressure ulcers. The intended impact of the device is to enhance clinician visual assessment of skin to prevent the occurrence of pressure ulcers. A significant focus is on enhanced detection in people with darkly pigmented since, in whom visual inspection is problematic.