A new photographic computerized measurement system for chronic wound assessment

Aim. Chronic wounds such as venous leg ulcers affect many people and can take a long time to heal. For this reason wound measurements are important to track the healing process in order to direct appropriate therapy. Purpose of this study was to identify a new assessment tool of wound healing. Methods. An image analysis-based program was created using Matlab 2008b. A graphic interface was created in which each button had a specific task. The system was able to characterize biological structures by color analysis and geometrical dimension. Five complete sequences of the entire ulcer healing process were analysed by means of photographic images. Results. The system was able to identify thanks to a numerical analysis, the diversity of the various surfaces that belong to an ulcerative lesion: granulation tissue, escara, necrotic tissue. Conclusion. This system, which is able to identify the various tissue components of a chronic wound, represents a quite promising tool for the description, in vivo on the patients, of the wound healing process.