Method for Treating Wound, Dressing for Use Therewith and Apparatus and System for Fabricating Dressing

Abstract

A method of treating a wound using a customized dressing. In the method, at least one wound characteristic is evaluated. A treatment need as a function of the at least one wound characteristic is determined. A dressing having a dressing characteristic responsive to the treatment need is fabricated and applied to the wound. A dressing for use therewith and an apparatus and system for fabricating the dressing are provided.

1 - 22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . A method for determining a configuration of a customized wound dressing, comprising:
 receiving characteristics of a wound of a patient;   determining the configuration of a wound dressing based on the characteristics of the wound by executing an algorithm at a computing device, the configuration comprising dimensions of the wound dressing; and   sending the configuration of the wound dressing for fabrication of the wound dressing.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the characteristics comprises at least one of (i) type of the wound, (ii) amount of exudates of the wound, (iii) size, shape and depth of the wound, (iv) advancement level of the wound, (v) bacterial colonization in the wound, (vi) epitheliazation of the wound, (vii) sensitivity of the wound, (viii) severity of the wound, (ix) heath of skin surrounding the wound, (x) periwound properties and (xi) pain level of the wound. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising receiving characteristics of the patient, wherein the configuration of the wound dressing is determined further based on the characteristics of the patient. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the characteristics of the patient is received from medical history of the patient. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the characteristics of the patient comprises at least one of allergies, health, immune problems, and skin color associated with the patient. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the configuration of the wound dressing comprises at least one of physical properties of the wound dressing, chemical properties of the wound dressing, geometrical properties of the wound dressing, optical properties of the wound dressing, electrical properties of the wound dressing, number of layers in the wound dressing, porosity of a layer in the wound dressing and thickness of the wound dressing. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising determining treatment of the wound based on the characteristics of the wound. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein determining the configuration of the wound dressing comprises generating a wound dressing map representing properties and characteristics at different parts of the wound dressing. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising fabricating the wound dressing at an automated device based on the configuration of the wound dressing. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising receiving an image from a digital imaging device, wherein the configuration of the wound dressing is determined further based on the image. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising receiving user input representing wound shape from a user. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein determining the configuration of a wound dressing comprises accessing a look-up table for comparing the characteristics of the wound against a data set. 
     
     
         35 . A computing device for determining a configuration of a customized wound dressing, the computing device comprising a processor configured to:
 receive characteristics of a wound of a patient;   determine the configuration of a wound dressing based on the characteristics of the wound by executing an algorithm at a computing device, the configuration comprising dimensions of the wound dressing; and   send the configuration of the wound dressing for fabrication of the wound dressing.   
     
     
         36 . The computing device of  claim 35 , wherein the characteristics comprises at least one of (i) type of the wound, (ii) amount of exudates of the wound, (iii) size, shape and depth of the wound, (iv) advancement level of the wound, (v) bacterial colonization in the wound, (vi) epitheliazation of the wound, (vii) sensitivity of the wound, (viii) severity of the wound, (ix) heath of skin surrounding the wound, (x) periwound properties and (xi) pain level of the wound. 
     
     
         37 . The computing device of  claim 35 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive characteristics of the patient, wherein the configuration of the wound dressing is determined further based on the characteristics of the patient. 
     
     
         38 . The computing device of  claim 37 , wherein the characteristics of the patient comprises at least one of allergies, health, immune problems, and skin color associated with the patient. 
     
     
         39 . The computing device of  claim 35 , wherein the configuration of the wound dressing comprises at least one of physical properties of the wound dressing, chemical properties of the wound dressing, geometrical properties of the wound dressing, optical properties of the wound dressing, electrical properties of the wound dressing, number of layers in the wound dressing, porosity of a layer in the wound dressing and thickness of the wound dressing. 
     
     
         40 . The computing device of  claim 35 , wherein the processor is configured to generate a wound dressing map representing properties and characteristics at different parts of the wound dressing. 
     
     
         41 . The computing device of  claim 35 , wherein the processor is configured to receive an image from a digital imaging device, wherein the configuration of the wound dressing is determined further based on the image. 
     
     
         42 . The computing device of  claim 35 , wherein the processor is further configured to accessing a look-up table for comparing the characteristics of the wound to determine the configuration of the wound dressing.