Grants and Contracts Details
Description
Pressure ulcers affect 1-3 million American adults .. Prolonged pressure results in poor peripheral circulation
and tissue hypoxia, and may cause significant tissue damage .. As one of the adjunctive therapies, electrical
stimulation (ES) is less labor intensive with lower costs compared to conventional therapies for ulcer treatment
However, ES parameters are often selected arbitrarily and treatment outcomes are evaluated by visible
estimates of tissue mass and/or wound volume changes rather than intrinsic hemodynamic changes in
ulcerous tissues .. Early detection of pressure ulcers is the key for effective ulcer management and for reducing
subsequent treatment costs. Since pressure ulcers usually originate from deep tissues attached to the bone
(e.g., gluteal muscles surrounding the sacrum), measurement of deep tissue hemodynamics is essential for
early diagnosis of ulcers and for optimization of ES treatment However, no easy methods exist yet that are
able to detect the early stages of ulcer development in deep tissues .. A new advanced technology, nearinfrared
diffuse optics, can noninvasively monitor blood flow and oxygenation in deep tissues (up to several
centimeters) with fiber-optic probes that gently contact the skin surface, and has recently been demonstrated in
our preliminary studies .. However, measurements of tissue hemodynamics using contact probes are not
appropriate for ulcerous tissues that are prone to infection. This proposed project is to develop and validate a
novel non-contact diffuse optical system (Aim 1) for early hemodynamic assessment of ulcer development in
deep tissues .. This non-contact system will completely avoid tissue deformation and potential infections
induced by probe-tissue contact This study will also integrate the non-contact system with an ES stimulator for
treatment and therapeutic monitoring of pressure ulcers. After the integrated non-contact system is validated in
healthy muscles and ES treatment parameters are optimized to maximize tissue hemodynamic responses to
ES (Aim 2), the non-contact optical system will be used to detect blood flow and tissue oxygenation in gluteal
muscles surrounding the sacrum in patients with or without pressure ulcers (stages I-IV) before, during and
after ES treatments over 4 weeks (Aim 3) .. It is expected that measurement of deep tissue hemodynamics that
affect tissue damage/healing will provide unique value for the early diagnosis of ulcer development, the
objective optimization of ES parameters, and the longitudinal evaluation of ES treatment effects .. Our long-term
goal is to conduct extensive studies on statistically significant popUlations from multiple rehabilitation centers to
translate and commercialize this innovative integrated system for the effective clinical management of pressure
ulcers. Given the health burden of long-term care for pressure ulcers, this translational technology project has
the potential to Significantly advance our understanding of pressure ulcer development and treatment,
ultimately leading to significant improvements in human heafth and substantial cost savings.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 2/15/12 → 1/31/15 |
Funding
- National Institute Arthritis Musculoskeletal & Skin: $350,467.00
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