Modern support methods for objective burn assessment

The requirements for accurate documentation of burn assessment have increased dramatically in recent years. During diagnosis, treatment or dressing changes an electronic documentation system is often not in-place, so the information has to be recorded at some later point in time. Consequently, documentation work is often redundant and vital information can get lost. In 2003 the research project BurnCase 3D was initiated in order to develop a software tool for objective burn assessment and documentation on common personal computers (PC). The center of the burn assessment and documentation is a 3D model representing the actual patient. Since then, modern graphics hardware on PC and on mobile devices has advanced considerably, including a variety of sensors and digital cameras. This enables the usage of graphical software systems for modern burn assessment on PCs as well as on mobile devices facilitating a continuous documentation process anytime and anywhere. During the research project BurnCase 3D, a comprehensive software system for burn injury assessment and therapy documentation has been developed. In 2011 this software has been ported to a mobile device. By using the touchscreen of modern SmartPhones it is possible to mark the wounds and surgical procedures directly on the mobile device and take digital pictures of the wounds e.g. during dressing change. Therefore, the documentation needed by the doctor is always available for use. The usage of PCs and mobile devices in clinical everyday life is increasing from year to year and has great advantages for facilitating documentation work. Modern devices have enough graphical performance to run sophisticated 3D applications. More information on the research project and on the software can be found at www.burncase.at.