Perfusion and Oxygenation Measurement
The present disclosure provides methods and apparatus for evaluating the flow of blood in damaged or healing tissue. The present disclosure also provides methods of identifying a patient at the onset of risk of pressure ulcer or at risk of the onset of pressure ulcer, and treating the patient with anatomy-specific clinical intervention selected based on perfusion or blood oxygenation values, or a combination thereof. The present disclosure also provides methods of stratifying groups of patients based on risk of wound development and methods of reducing incidence of tissue damage in a care facility. The present disclosure also provides methods to analyze trends of perfusion or oxygenation measurements to detect tissue damage before it is visible, and methods to compare bisymmetric perfusion values to identify damaged tissue.
1 - 16 . (canceled)
17 . An apparatus for assessing perfusion of blood in tissue below a patient's skin, comprising:
an emitter configured to selectably emit light at a first wavelength or emit light at a second wavelength,
a camera configured to form a first image of reflected light at the first wavelength and a second image of reflected light at the second wavelength,
a substrate coupled to the emitter and the camera and configured such that substrate can be placed such that the light emitted by the emitter illuminates a portion of the skin of the patient that is within a field of view of the camera,
a display, and
a processor coupled to the camera and the display and configured to:
receive the first and second images,
form a third image that is a summation of the first and second images, and
provide the third image on the display.
18 . The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein:
the processor is coupled to the emitter,
the processor is further configured to cause the emitter to emit only light at the first wavelength at a first time and emit only light at the second wavelength at a second time, and
the camera forms the first image at the first time and forms the second image at the second time.
19 - 61 . (canceled)
62 . An apparatus for assessing perfusion of blood in tissue below a patient's skin, comprising:
an emitter configured to selectably emit light at a first wavelength or emit light at a second wavelength,
a camera configured to form a first image of reflected light at the first wavelength and a second image of reflected light at the second wavelength,
a substrate coupled to the emitter and the camera and configured such that substrate can be placed such that the light emitted by the emitter illuminates a portion of the skin of the patient that is within a field of view of the camera,
a display, and
a processor coupled to the camera and the display and configured to:
receive the first and second images, and
provide the first and second images on the display.
63 . The apparatus of claim 62 , wherein:
the processor is coupled to the emitter,
the processor is further configured to cause the emitter to emit only light at the first wavelength at a first time and emit only light at the second wavelength at a second time, and
the camera forms the first image at the first time and forms the second image at the second time.