Differentiating between Healthy Tissue and Early Stage Pressure Injuries: A Pilot Study of Effectiveness of the SEM Scanner

Introduction

Pressure injuries (PI) are a significant burden on the healthcare system and on patients. Many different technologies have been investigated to detect and prevent PIs, however, a new handheld capacitance tool demonstrates merit in its ability to detect PIs. The purpose of these studies was to evaluate the SEM Scanner^TM for accuracy and effectiveness in detecting the presence or absence of pressure injuries.

 

Methods. This was a non-blinded case control study, looking at two cohorts of patients; those with and without pressure injuries. The subjects were initially assessed for skin damage using visual assessment then scanned at the same sites for the presence of tissue damage using the SEM scanner.

 

Results. There were 175 subjects enrolled in the studies.  There were 66 sacral injuries, 59 heel injuries, and 50 subjects without injuries.   The difference in readings between the two cohorts was significant with p-value=/>0.064 for injured tissue and p-value as low as <0.001 for healthy uninjured regions (Scanner delta values below 0.6 indicated normal tissue).  Sensitivity and specificity exceed 80% for both the sacrum and heels.

 

Conclusion. Sensitivity and specificity exceed 80% for both sacrum and heels when a within-subject change in SEM Scanner readings of ±0.5 is utilized.  The SEM Scanner is a very effective device in the detection of Stage I Pressure Injuries (PIs) and Deep Tissue Pressure Injuries (DTPI).  The SEM Scanner provides measurable data to the visual identification of the presence or non-presence of tissue injury.  This easy to use hand-held device may revolutionize the pressure injury prevention and early detection, potentially, making it a ground-breaking device for aiding the current subjective, skill-based practice of pressure injury management.