Using Optical Coherence Tomography to Monitor Process of Wound Healing: a Preliminary Study

Visual examination by an experienced surgeon is widely used to evaluate the recovery processes of ulcer. This method of diagnosis is quite subjective and often relies on the surgeon's experience. Therefore, an objective, non-invasive, and in-vivo examination method is urgently needed to help determine the depth and degree of wound healing. In this paper, we report that using a real-time imaging technology-OCT ( optical coherence tomography, OCT) monitor the healing processes of skin wounds in the rat. Our hypothesis was that if the OCT technology were able to monitor the spontaneous healing processes of skin wound, it should also be useful in detecting the inflammatory processes of ulcer. After the SD ( Sprague-Dawley, SD) rat anesthetized, a standardized 1.0 cm times 1.0 cm wound was created on the dorsal skin by bistoury. The rat was injected intramuscularly. And the wound was bandaged and left to heal spontaneously. On the next day of the operation, the skin wounds on the rats were examined by OCT imaging every two days to measure the depth and degree of wound. Different healing stages of the skin wound could be observed distinctively from the OCT images. The depth and extent of the skin wound also could be determined easily from the images. The OCT technology was able to provide the real-time imaging of the healing processes of the skin wound. Based on the results of this preliminary study, we have demonstrated that OCT technology is a promising scientific tool which helps make diagnostic decisions and recommend treatment strategy for skin wound or stomach ulcer, because the technology can provide the excellences of real-time, high axial resolution, and fast imaging on the depth and degree of wound healing.