Evaluation of Skin Damage with Portable fNIR
Portable skin trauma assessment.
CHALLENGE:
To quickly assess the degree and cause of skin trauma and to proceed with appropriate treatment in emergency situations.
SOLUTION:
CIMERC has developed a state-of-the-art opto-electronics device that uses functional near infrared (fNIR) technology to rapidly assess the level of oxygenation and volume of blood present in wounded tissue. These parameters can be correlated to severity of skin damage and can be used to track the progress of healing in wounded tissue.
A key advantage of this device is that it is completely non-invasive. Low-power laser light is delivered to tissue via a fiber optic probe. The tissue absorbs the light and it is then scattered back to the probe. Four detector fibers deliver the backscattered light to the instrument, where the levels of oxygenation and blood volume are determined from the way the light interacts with tissue. It is possible to modify the depth of the tissue that is being probed simply by changing the distance of the detector fibers from the light source.
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:
This portable device (12"x10"x10", ~15lbs) can aid in the triage process and the subsequent care of trauma injuries in the event of a complex medical emergency.