There is an urgent need for a user-friendly, portable, and non-contact imaging device for first responders and clinicians in the field. If a patient presents with a second-degree burn, determining the severity of the wound requires expertise that is not readily available. These wounds may require as little as a thorough cleaning and ointment or as extensive as a graft and surgery. Making a decision for treatment is time-sensitive and critical to the health of the patient. Optical technologies have shown promise as quantitative tools for burn assessment, but the form factor for current technology is appropriate only for large hospitals and burn centers, not for battlefield or field hospital use.

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When first responders arrive on a scene they assess burn size and depth depth. These estimations by non-specialists are reported to be only 60% and 51% accurate, respectively.2 In the absence of an experienced burn specialist, it is critical to have tools capable of quantitative assessment of burn severity and extent as well as progress in healing. Quantitative detection of hemoglobin, perfusion, tissue oxygenation, and edema can be used to assess burn severity and direct the treatment approach.

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The Burn Wound Imager, developed by Bodkin Design & Engineering, LLC (BD&E), with our partner Dr. Robert Sheridan from Shriner’s Hospital for Children-Boston (SHC), would be the first to provide non-specialist with tools for fast and accurate data in a hand-held form.