Wound imaging and analysis

Abstract

Given a specific imaging device and systems further described herein, wound characteristics of a wound fluoresce with a unique spectral signature when subjected to excitation light with a known wavelength or range of wavelengths. Images captured therefrom are subject to analyses by one or more analysis modules trained using one or more of reflectance images and/or data, fluorescence images and/or data, RGB image data, RGB color data, and wound characteristics data. Wound sizes, boundaries, bacterial presence, and other characteristics may be quantified and graphically represented as an overlay on the original wound image along with documentation related to the wound. Reflectance, fluorescent, and thermal images of the wound may be acquired, subject to analyses with the trained analysis modules, and two or more of the analyzed images may be overlaid to form a composite image upon which areas of interest from each image is highlighted or otherwise indicated.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for wound analysis, the computer-implemented method stored on a computer-readable medium and comprising logical instructions that are executed by a processor to perform operations comprising:
 receiving reflectance, fluorescent, and thermal images of a wound analyzing, using one or more analysis modules, the reflectance,
 fluorescent, and thermal images, wherein the one or more analysis modules are trained using one or more of reflectance images and/or data, fluorescence images and/or data, RGB image data, RGB color data, and wound characteristics data; 
   detecting at least one area of interest in each of the analyzed images, wherein the area of interest comprises one or more wound characteristics;   generating a composite output image by overlaying two or more of the reflectance image, the fluorescent image, and the thermal image and identifying the at least one area of interest of each respective image in the composite image;   wherein each area of interest comprises one or more wound characteristics.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more wound characteristics comprises a wound boundary, a wound size, a wound depth, a bacterial presence, a bacterial load, a wound temperature, a connective tissue presence, a blood presence, a bone presence, a change in tissue or cellular wound components, a vascularization, or a necrosis. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the wound characteristic data comprises one or more of bacterial presence data, bacterial colonization data, bacterial load data, wound size data, wound depth data, wound boundary data, wound temperature data, changes in tissue and cellular wound components, collagen proliferation data, vascularization data, necrosis data, tissue composition data, autofluorescence emissions data, fluorescence emissions data, light absorption data, light reflectance data, and scattering of light data 
     
     
         4 . A system comprising:
 an imaging device configured to acquire reflectance, fluorescent, and thermal images of a wound;   a processor coupled to the imaging device; and   a memory coupled to the processor, the memory configured to store computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 acquiring reflectance, fluorescent, and thermal images of the wound using the imaging device; 
 analyzing, using one or more analysis modules, the reflectance, fluorescent, and thermal images, wherein the one or more analysis modules are trained using one or more of reflectance images and/or data, fluorescence images and/or data, RGB image data, RGB color data, and wound characteristics data; 
 detecting at least one area of interest in each of the analyzed images, wherein the area of interest comprises one or more wound characteristics; 
 overlaying two or more of the reflectance image, the fluorescent image, and the thermal image to form a composite image identifying the at least one area of interest of each respective image in the composite image; and 
 outputting the composite image to a user of the imaging device. 
   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the wound characteristic data comprises one or more of bacterial presence data, bacterial colonization data, bacterial load data, wound size data, wound depth data, wound boundary data, wound temperature data, changes in tissue and cellular wound components, collagen proliferation data, vascularization data, necrosis data, tissue composition data, autofluorescence emissions data, fluorescence emissions data, light absorption data, light reflectance data, and scattering of light data. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the one or more wound characteristics comprises a wound boundary, a wound size, a wound depth, a bacterial presence, a bacterial load, a wound temperature, a connective tissue presence, a blood presence, a bone presence, a change in tissue or cellular wound components, a vascularization, or a necrosis. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the imaging device is an imaging device of a mobile communications device. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the mobile communications device and the processor are contained within a housing of the system. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the imaging device is communicatively coupled to the mobile communications device via a network.