Traumatic wounds contain devitalized tissue, bacteria and associated foreign bodies, grass, soil, and bone fractions, depending on how and where the injury occurred. Wounds caused by blast impact from modern weaponry in war scenarios are usually more severe, and are contaminated with an even greater variety of foreign bodies. The debris can include weapon shells, fabric from clothing, gravel, ceramic shards from armor, and various types of shrapnel, such as those used in improvised explosive devices. The wound will also contain a mass of devitalized skin and muscle tissue meshed with healthy tissue. The speed and quality of wound debridement in the initial treatment stage are crucial to prevent the type of infections that lead to mortality and morbidity. Various imaging methods that have been developed in the past century can be used to locate and visualize some of the objects in the wound, but as a rule, the surgeon still uses visual observation and mechanical methods (hand, forceps, and scalpel) to identify and remove the objects and devitalized tissue. Often, additional ceiling and headlight illumination is applied, but the scattered light from the wet tissue, and shadows from the surgical instruments dramatically reduce the visual contrast. Intelligent Optical Systems proposes to enhance the ability to visualize foreign bodies in wounds by illuminating the area of interest with different colors of light that match the hues of specific objects, thereby improving contrast, and making it easier to locate and identify different types of debris inflicted in the wound or surgical articles mistakenly left in the wound. This method will be implemented in a multicolor illuminator that can be attached to any type of surgical forceps. The color controls will be provided via a user friendly sliding rheostat. UV radiation (optional) to distinguish highly fluorescent foreign bodies will also be considered in the proposed design. A miniature video camera chip will be incorporated in the illuminator to provide a magnified image of the debris. The image will be observed on a screen placed on the surgery supportive equipment cart. Two illuminator options are proposed: 1) a wall powered device for use in regular operating facilities, and 2) a battery operated device for use in areas of restricted power consumption, such as field hospitals or remote locations.
The proposed Detachable Multicolor Light Source for Forceps will enhance the ability of military and trauma surgeons, and first responders, to remove foreign bodies inflicted in wounds caused by vehicular accidents, industrial accidents, fire, modern weaponry, or improvised explosive devices. The higher quality of wound debridement will decrease the number of trauma related infections, and as a result, lead to a reduced number of infection related amputations morbidities and mortalities.
