Assessment of ulcer wounds size using 3D skin surface imaging

Abstract

In this work 3D surface scans of wounds are used to obtain several measurement including wound top area, true surface area (rue area), depth, and volume for the purpose of assessing the progress of ulcer wounds throughout treatment. KONICA MINOLTA 910 laser scanner is used to obtain the surface scans. The algorithm for estimating top area and true surface area from surface scan can reduce the inaccuracy that might result when using manual method. Two methods for solid construction and volume computation were considered; namely mid-point projection and convex hull approximation (Delaunay tetrahedralization). The performance of convex hull approximation method for volume estimation is improved by performing surface subdivision prior to the approximation. The performance of these algorithms on different patterns of simulated wound models is presented. Furthermore the algorithms are tested in two molded wounds printed using rapid prototyping (RP) technique. © 2009 Springer-Verlag.