Dr. Leonardi’s research team, which consisted of Michael Sowa, Bernhard Schattka, Trevor Posthumous, Michelle Hastings, and Jeri Payette, set out to develop a reliable, objective, and easy-to use-technique for evaluating burn injuries as soon as possible after the injury occurred. They knew that burn injuries change the hemodynamics of the skin. They also knew that burns of differing degrees have different hemodynamic responses in the post-burn stage. They needed a way to evaluate tissue hemodynamics in the early post-burn period.

To gain a clearer picture, they decided to investigate the epidermis and the deep dermis using an NIR spectroscope. NIR light can penetrate tissue more deeply than visible wavelengths, detecting changes in tissue status before they can be seen with the naked eye.

The researchers would have to try out several NIR light collection, analysis, and visualization methods. They would require a flexible software environment in which to model and simulate concepts and evaluate a range of algorithms.

They began by investigating what burn injuries do to the skin. Hemoglobin is a marker of the amount of oxygen within the tissue and can be “seen” with NIR light. They therefore measured hemoglobin levels as well as tissue blood volume.

Two data collection devices were used: a point spectrometer with a multifiber probe and a high-density CCD camera. The spectrometer illuminated the tissue in the region of interest and collected re-emitted light. The CCD camera and a wavelength selector let them acquire images of the burn tissue at different wavelengths. This spectral information helped them determine if the tissue was well oxygenated and supplied with blood.

MathWorks products helped them manage potentially unwieldy data. For example, when the CCD images provided more spatial resolution than they needed, they used wavelet compression and decomposition methods in Wavelet Toolbox to decompose or compress the data.

Working in MATLAB, they ran simulations of how the burn injury might affect the epidermis and the deep dermis. They then used Signal Processing Toolbox and Image Processing Toolbox to rapidly develop different algorithmic approaches to collecting and analyzing the spectral images.

The image registration functions in Image Processing Toolbox let them correct images that had been misaligned by slight movements of the patient. “Image registration is critical for our applications because we need to make sure that images aren’t distorted when the patient moves and breathes,” Leonardi explains.

Clinical trials are under way at Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto, the largest burn center in Canada, where surgeons are using the imaging tool to classify burn injuries. Results so far are promising, and NRC plans to apply for FDA approval to develop a commercial version of the product.