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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.
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Figure 1: Placement of the electrodes and electrical stimulator Decus (developed
at
the
Jožef Stefan Institute) |
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Figure 2: Time required for healing for
four treatment modalities
[click on the image to enlarge] |
Bibliography:
- 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.
- Cukjati D, Rebersek S, Karba R, Miklavcic D. Modelling of
chronic wound healing dynamics. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput.
38: 339-347, 2000. [PDF
 ]
- Cukjati D, Rebersek S, Miklavcic D. A reliable method of
determining wound healing rate. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput.
39: 263-271, 2001. [PDF]
- 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]
-
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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