TISSUE OXYGEN LEVEL IN ACUTE AND CHRONIC WOUND: A COMPARISON STUDY

Abstract

Adequate oxygen supply to granulating tissue and its surroundings is considered as an elementary factor to render an optimum condition for proper wound healing. This paper focused on comparing the quantitative mean of transcutaneous oxygen saturation (StO2) between acute superficial wounds and chronic diabetic wounds in a randomized clinical study. A multispectral imaging system was employed for in-vivo measurement of wound StO2 across a visible wavelength range of  nm. Processed StO2 maps of wounds using a reconstructed mathematical model revealed a mean StO2 of  and , respectively, in acute and chronic wounds. The statistical test on the difference in the values between these two groups of wounds was shown to be statistically significant (). These crucial findings contribute to the existing knowledge on the StO2 range and its variation in different wound conditions. In conclusion, the proposed multispectral imaging system is able to produce clinical information of wound oxygenation level for a better understanding of the obligatory role of oxygen as a key determinant in healing outcomes.