Clinical application of functional near-infrared spectroscopy for burn assessment

Yoo Hwan Kim; Seung-Ho Paik; Youngmin Kim; Jaechul Yoon; Yong Suk Cho; Dohern Kym; Jun Hur; Wook Chun; Beop-Min Kim; Byung-Jo Kim

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1127563

Clinical application of functional near-infrared spectroscopy for burn assessment

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 Mar 30:11:1127563. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1127563. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yoo Hwan Kim^{1

2}, Seung-Ho Paik³, Youngmin Kim⁴, Jaechul Yoon⁵, Yong Suk Cho⁵, Dohern Kym⁵, Jun Hur⁵, Wook Chun⁵, Beop-Min Kim³, Byung-Jo Kim^{6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Neurology, Graduate School, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Bio-convergence Engineering, Korea University College of Health Science, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Surgery, Burn and Trauma Center, Daein Surgery and Medical Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Department of Surgery, Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Department of Neurology, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁷ BK21 FOUR Program in Learning Health Systems, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Significance: Early assessment of local tissue oxygen saturation is essential for clinicians to determine the burn wound severity. Background: We assessed the burn extent and depth in the skin of the extremities using a custom-built 36-channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy system in patients with burns. Methods: A total of nine patients with burns were analyzed in this study. All second-degree burns were categorized as superficial, intermediate, and deep burns; non-burned skin on the burned side; and healthy skin on the contralateral non-burned side. Hemodynamic tissue signals from functional near-infrared spectroscopy attached to the burn site were measured during fNIRS using a blood pressure cuff. A nerve conduction study was conducted to check for nerve damage. Results: All second-degree burns were categorized into superficial, intermediate, and deep burns; non-burned skin on the burned side and healthy skin on the contralateral non-burned side showed a significant difference distinguishable using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Hemodynamic measurements using functional near-infrared spectroscopy were more consistent with the diagnosis of burns 1 week later than that of the degree of burns diagnosed visually at the time of admission. Conclusion: Functional near-infrared spectroscopy may help with the early judgment of burn extent and depth by reflecting differences in the oxygen saturation levels in the skin.

Keywords: burn; hemodynamics; near-infrared spectroscopy; oxygen saturation; skin.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. NRF-2019R1G1A1010030). This research was supported by the Korea Health Technology R&D Project grant through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number: HI14C3477). The funders had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the paper.