Experimental Results of a Vision-Based Burn Scar Assessment Technique

In this paper we propose a method for the objective assessment of burn scars. The quantitative measures developed in this research provide an objective way to calculate scar elasticity. The approach combines range data and the mechanics and motion dynamics of human tissues. Active contours are employed to locate regions of interest and to find displacements of feature points using automatically established correspondences. Elasticity of the burn scar is then recovered using iterative descent search for the best nonlinear finite element model that approximates stretching behavior of the region containing the burn scar. The results from the skin elasticity experiments illustrate the ability to objectively detect differences in elasticity between normal and abnormal tissue. These estimated differences are correlated against the subjective judgments of physicians which are presently the practice.