CW Optics to Conduct Clinical Trial of Advanced Optical Imaging Device

CW Optics, manufacturer of biophotonic instruments, has announced that a clinical trial will be conducted to examine the effectiveness and safety of an advanced optical imaging device, the WoundImager. The trial will take place at the Chippenham and Johnston-Willis (CJW) Medical Center in Richmond, New Zealand. The WoundImager is used to monitor the efficacy  of therapies of chronic wounds caused by diabetes.

The hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a general treatment for healing wounds and requires 20 sessions. Each session lasts for about 90 min. The patient, during the treatment, is placed inside a hyperbaric chamber. The chamber will have two to three atmospheres of O2. Both concentrated oxygen and increased pressure contribute to enhanced blood flow, which results in improved wound healing.

A critical factor in wound healing is the ability to assess the condition of the wound. The WoundImager optical imaging device uses the laser speckle imaging (LSI) technology to calculate the blood flow velocity of the wound area. Two sets of patients, one set receiving normal wound care and the other receiving the hyperbaric oxygen therapy, will be recruited for the clinical trail. During the trial, the device will be utilized to monitor the healing process of the patients’ foot wounds.

The WoundImager optical imaging device will also be used to monitor patients undergoing flap-transfer procedures and patients with oral cancer.

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Clinical Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery, Joseph Boykin is the principal investigator of the project.