Revolutionizing Wound Healing Assessment: The Role of LC-OCT and AI

Study Background and Disease Burden

Wound healing is a complex biological process that plays a crucial role in medical care, particularly in dermatology and surgery. Delays or impairments in wound healing can lead to significant morbidity, prolonged hospitalization, and increased healthcare costs. Chronic wounds, such as diabetic ulcers and pressure sores, represent a substantial burden on patients and health systems, reflecting the necessity for improved evaluation and management strategies. Traditional methods of assessing wound healing often lack precision and repeatability, highlighting a crucial need for advanced techniques that provide detailed insights into the dynamic physiological changes occurring during the healing process.

In recent years, ablative fractional photothermolysis has emerged as a promising in vivo model to investigate wound healing. It induces controlled skin injuries that can be monitored using innovative imaging modalities. Line-field confocal optical coherence tomography (LC-OCT) represents a shift towards non-invasive imaging methods, allowing real-time evaluation of skin architecture and function without the need for biopsies or other invasive procedures.