Pressure injury image analysis with machine learning techniques: A systematic review on previous and possible future...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Wound Care Technology
• Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Background:

• Pressure injuries pose a significant global healthcare challenge, disproportionately affecting the elderly and disabled.
• Accurate diagnosis and monitoring of pressure injuries are essential for effective treatment and patient outcomes.
• Traditional invasive methods for wound assessment carry risks of pain and infection, necessitating safer alternatives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of non-invasive imaging techniques for pressure injury analysis and monitoring.
• To evaluate the efficiency of Deep Learning (DL) in improving pressure injury diagnosis and healing assessment.
• To synthesize findings from 114 analyzed research papers on pressure injuries, chronic wounds, and skin lesions.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of 114 research papers from 8 databases.
• Analysis of non-invasive imaging techniques for wound segmentation, tissue classification, and metric calculation (diameter, area, volume).
• Evaluation of Deep Learning models for pressure injury assessment and healing monitoring.

Main Results:

• Non-invasive imaging offers a safe and effective alternative to invasive methods for monitoring wound healing.
• Deep Learning models demonstrate superior performance in analyzing pressure injury characteristics compared to traditional methods.
• Imaging systems incorporating wound segmentation, tissue classification, and metric analysis are key for comprehensive evaluation.

Conclusions:

• Non-invasive imaging techniques, particularly when enhanced by Deep Learning, offer a promising approach for the accurate diagnosis and monitoring of pressure injuries.
• Deep Learning significantly improves the analysis of wound characteristics and healing progress, outperforming previous methods.
• This survey underscores the potential of advanced imaging and AI to revolutionize pressure injury care.