Measuring leg ulcers by colour-coded structured light

A non-contact semi-automatic leg ulcer measurement and management system is described. Besides measuring the area of an ulcer, it can also evaluate its volume by calculating the difference between the virtual reconstruction of the former healthy skin and the actual measured surface. An adequate representation of a real ulcer is created in a PC memory using a structured light scanning system with simultaneously projected stripes of colour-coded light. The method is fast and reliable and capable of evaluating area and volume with an uncertainty of 5% of the total size. Means of ulcer classification, healing time forecast and patient data management may also be included in the system.