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ELECTRICAL STIMULATION OF CHRONIC WOUND HEALING

Effects of electrical stimulation on wound healing were studied in an extensive clinical study [1], which lead to routine use of electrical stimulation as a therapeutic tool for treatment of various types of chronic wounds at the Institute for Rehabilitation of the Republic of Slovenia (Fig. 1). To date, 262 patients with 390 chronic wounds participated in the controlled study involving four different treatment modalities (Fig. 2). The expected time to complete wound closure has to be estimated as soon as possible to help formulate appropriate management, reduce the cost and orient resources to the individuals with poor prognosis. We have shown that periodical assessments of wound extent can be combined with a mathematical model of healing dynamics and patient/wound characteristics to accurately predict time to wound closure in only three weeks [2-4]. A web-based application for data collection and application for such prediction is now in regular use at the Institute for Rehabilitation.



Figure 1: Placement of the electrodes and electrical stimulator Decus (developed at
the Jožef Stefan Institute)
  Figure 2: Time required for healing for
four treatment modalities
[click on the image to enlarge]

Bibliography:

  1. Jercinovic A, Karba R, Vodovnik L, Stefanovska A, Kroselj P, Turk R, Dzidic I, Benko H, Savrin R. Low frequency pulsed current and pressure ulcer healing. IEEE T. Rehab. Eng. 2: 225-233, 1994.
  2. Cukjati D, Rebersek S, Karba R, Miklavcic D. Modelling of chronic wound healing dynamics. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 38: 339-347, 2000. [PDF]
  3. Cukjati D, Rebersek S, Miklavcic D. A reliable method of determining wound healing rate. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 39: 263-271, 2001. [PDF]
  4. Cukjati D, Robnik-Sikonja M, Rebersek S, Kononenko I, Miklavcic D. Prognostic factors in the prediction of chronic wound healing by electrical stimulation. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 39: 542-550, 2001. [PDF]
  5. Cukjati D, Savrin R. Electric current wound healing. In Rosch PJ, Markov MS, Bioelectromagnetic Medicine, arcel Dekker, New York, 2004, pp. 485-505. [PDF]

 

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