Innovative Wound Care: Combining the Precision of Laser Scanning and the Power of Digital Photography to Advance Clinical Wound Management

Purpose: Accurate wound management and valid tracking of healing trends is vital for informed decision making and documentation. The global cost of wound care is increasing, leading institutions to seek more efficient and accurate ways to improve wound assessment.  University of Maryland Medical System is rising to the challenges of managing the growing population of patients with wounds by integrating a new 3D wound measuring, imaging and documentation system. The system enables accurate wound measurement, high quality imaging, and precise healing trend data integrated into the electronic medical record (EMR).

Objective:  This new technology, which was selected by the WOC Nurses and a multidisciplinary team from within the University of Maryland Medical System, has been initially used for pressure ulcer assessment and documentation. This technology provides a more efficient and accurate method to improve and communicate wound assessment, support more objective staging, display healing trends and documentation. The three- dimensional laser triangulation measurement and imaging device accounts for the curvature of the human body and three-dimensional nature of wounds.  In addition to producing a high quality digital image of the wound, software in the system is integrated with the EMR and is accessible to authorized providers across the UMMS network using a secure centralized database. 

Outcomes: Since its implementation by the WOC Nurses at University of Maryland Medical Center in May 2013, this new system has improved wound assessment and communication by supporting objective staging, graph healing trend data and thorough documentation. It is intended that this application will support clinical trials and research initiatives, track the effectiveness of adjunctive therapies, and enhance the ability to identify wounds on admission.