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3D photography is as accurate as digital planimetry tracing in determining burn wound area
K A Stockton1, C M McMillan2, K J Storey2
1Centre for Children's Burns and Trauma Research, Queensland Children's Medical Research Institute, University of Queensland, Australia.
Insights
3D photography offers a reliable and faster method for assessing paediatric burn wound area compared to traditional digital planimetry. This technique minimizes patient discomfort during wound evaluation in pediatric burn care.
Area of Science:
- Medical imaging
- Paediatric burn care
- Wound assessment technology
Background:
- Paediatric burn wound assessment requires techniques that minimize patient discomfort and stress.
- Current methods for measuring burn wound area in children need careful consideration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate 3D photography as a method for measuring paediatric burn wound area.
- To compare 3D photography with digital planimetry (Visitrak™) for burn wound area measurement in children.
Main Methods:
- Twenty-five paediatric burn patients were enrolled in the study.
- Burn wound area was measured using both digital planimetry (Visitrak™) and 3D camera analysis.
- Inter-rater reliability of the 3D camera software was assessed by three independent investigators.
Main Results:
- 3D photography demonstrated excellent agreement (ICC 0.994) with digital planimetry for burn wound area measurement.
- Excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC 0.989) was found for the 3D camera software.
- 3D camera imaging at the bedside was significantly faster than Visitrak™ for wound mapping (14.68s vs 36.84s).
Conclusions:
- 3D LifeViz™ camera imaging with Dermapix® software is a reliable method for assessing acute paediatric burn wound area.
- The study supports the use of 3D photography as an effective tool in paediatric burn management.
- This technology offers potential benefits in terms of speed and accuracy for paediatric burn wound assessment.
Background:
In the paediatric population careful attention needs to be made concerning techniques utilised for wound assessment to minimise discomfort and stress to the child.
Aim:
To investigate whether 3D photography is a valid measure of burn wound area in children compared to the current clinical gold standard method of digital planimetry using Visitrak™.
Method:
Twenty-five children presenting to the Stuart Pegg Paediatric Burn Centre for burn dressing change following acute burn injury were included in the study. Burn wound area measurement was undertaken using both digital planimetry (Visitrak™ system) and 3D camera analysis. Inter-rater reliability of the 3D camera software was determined by three investigators independently assessing the burn wound area.
Results:
A comparison of wound area was assessed using intraclass correlation co-efficients (ICC) which demonstrated excellent agreement 0.994 (CI 0.986, 0.997). Inter-rater reliability measured using ICC 0.989 (95% CI 0.979, 0.995) demonstrated excellent inter-rater reliability. Time taken to map the wound was significantly quicker using the camera at bedside compared to Visitrak™ 14.68 (7.00)s versus 36.84 (23.51)s (p<0.001). In contrast, analysing wound area was significantly quicker using the Visitrak™ tablet compared to Dermapix(®) software for the 3D Images 31.36 (19.67)s versus 179.48 (56.86)s (p<0.001).
Conclusion:
This study demonstrates that images taken with the 3D LifeViz™ camera and assessed with Dermapix(®) software is a reliable method for wound area assessment in the acute paediatric burn setting.
