Near infrared point and imaging spectroscopy for burn depth assessment

Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) can accurately predict burn wound depth in human subjects. An independent observer classified the acute burn injury into depths based on a visual assessment. Phase I (n = 16) included superficial (n = 8) and full thickness (n = 8) burns while phase II (n = 19) consisted of superficial partial (n = 5) and deep partial thickness (n = 14) injuries. Biopsies were acquired at the time of surgery. NIRS data was collected from a burn and non-burned control site. Statistical significance was achieved using pairwise t-tests if p-value < 0.05. In phase I, superficial burns demonstrated increased oxygen saturation (4.8%, p < 0.05%) and total hemoglobin (91.3%, p < 0.05). Full thickness burn wounds demonstrated decreased oxygen saturation (79.1%, p < 0.05) and total haemoglobin (77.5%, p < 0.05). In phase II, comparing visual assessment with NIRS data, there was an increase in oxygen saturation (3.65%, p < 0.05) and total haemoglobin (15.83%, p < 0.05) in superficial partial thickness burns. In contrast, deep partial thickness burns displayed a decrease in oxygen saturation (17.65%, p < 0.05) and an increase in total haemoglobin (5.07%, p < 0.05). Statistical significance was achieved when comparing NIRS to histopathology and time to wound healing (p < 0.05). This study supports the use of NIRS as a method to objectively determine burn depth.