Development and evaluation of a novel smart device-based application for burn assessment and management

• Lund–Browder total body surface area (TBSA) burned was calculated faster using a software application on a smart device than using the standard paper and pencil method.
• The smart device application results were not significantly different from those of the standard method.
• The smart device application is as safe and reliable as the current standard.
• Built in tutorials and ease of use may reduce medical errors made during TBSA calculation.

We have developed a novel software application that provides a simple and interactive Lund–Browder diagram for automatic calculation of total body surface area (TBSA) burned, fluid formula recommendations, and serial wound photography on a smart device platform. The software was developed for the iPad (Apple, Cupertino, CA) smart device platforms. Ten burns ranging from 5 to 95% TBSA were computer generated on a patient care simulator using Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Adobe, San Jose, CA). Burn clinicians calculated the TBSA first using a paper-based Lund–Browder diagram. Following a one-week “washout period”, the same clinicians calculated TBSA using the smart device application. Simulated burns were presented in a random fashion and clinicians were timed. Percent TBSA burned calculated by Peregrine vs. the paper-based Lund–Browder were similar (29.53 [25.57] vs. 28.99 [25.01], p = 0.22, n = 7). On average, Peregrine allowed users to calculate burn size significantly faster than the paper form (58.18 [31.46] vs. 90.22 [60.60] s, p < 0.001, n = 7). The smart device application also provided 5 megapixel photography capabilities, and acute burn resuscitation fluid calculator. We developed an innovative smart device application that enables accurate and rapid burn size assessment to be cost-effective and widely accessible.