None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The WoundView pilot study responds to the urgent need to develop a digital solution bringing together wound analysis within video telehealth and increase access to wound care in Residential Aged Care Homes. A set of digital tools that use simple and affordable technology to collect, analyse, and track wound images will be tested, and included in an existing secure video telehealth platform (Coviu). The tool, WoundView, will allow for timely access and improved wound care. The aim of this study is to assess the benefits and costs of WoundView and identify factors associated with successful implementation of WoundView.
Interventions
The intervention, WoundView, is a novel computer vision based artificial intelligence (AI) wound analysis tool integrated with an existing video telehealth platform (Coviu). WoundView links residents who have chronic wounds, and their clinical care staff in Residential Aged Care Homes (RACHs) to wound care clinicians such as wound care specialists, wound nurses, and General Practitioners (GPs). Wound care clinicians will deliver expert wound care to residents with chronic wounds using WoundView.
The intervention, WoundView, is a novel computer vision based artificial intelligence (AI) wound analysis tool integrated with an existing video telehealth platform (Coviu). WoundView links residents who have chronic wounds, and their clinical care staff in Residential Aged Care Homes (RACHs) to wound care clinicians such as wound care specialists, wound nurses, and General Practitioners (GPs). Wound care clinicians will deliver expert wound care to residents with chronic wounds using WoundView. Before commencement of the study, RACH staff and wound care clinicians will be invited to participate in face-to-face or virtual training of approximately one hour delivered by the research team. Additional video training and written resources will be available within WoundView for use by staff during the study. During the study, resident participants with chronic wounds will be referred to a wound care clinician who will deliver virtual wound care using WoundView. Consumer-grade devices such as laptops, mobile phones and tablets will be used by the RACH and wound care clinician to access WoundView. At each use of WoundView, wound images will be gathered by RACH staff and submitted for AI wound analysis. Live video stream of the wound will also be available during telehealth consultations, providing treating clinicians with detailed, close-up vision of the wound. WoundView produces wound bed segmentation and measurements i.e., length, width and total area which can be monitored and compared over time. Ongoing wound consultations and assessments lasting approximately 30-45 minutes will be undertaken using WoundView for the duration of the study (minimum intervention period four months). WoundView will be used to capture wound images at each wound dressing change (range 3-14 days). Adherence to the intervention will be assessed weekly by the research team through WoundView usage and wound measurement data for the duration of the study. WoundView will be used for chronic wound management as often as is required based on the clinical needs of each participant. The participating RACHs are in rural and urban New South Wales and Queensland, Australia.
Sponsors
School of Rural Health, The University of Sydney
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Primary purpose
Treatment
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Residents: • Willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study OR can be consented to participate through supported decision-making with resident, family, and/or substitute decision maker/s • Have a chronic wound at the start of the study period or develop a chronic wound during the study period. A chronic wound is defined as a wound that has been present for three or more weeks OR is likely to take three or more weeks to heal. The wound must be considered suitable for active treatment as per advice of RACH staff. • The wound must be considered suitable for curative or palliative treatment as per advice of RACH staff RACH staff and wound care clinicians: All staff employed by the participating RACHs and wound care clinicians such as wound care specialist, wound care nurses and General Practitioners, will be eligible to participate in the study if they are aged 18 years or over and can undertake data collection in English.
Exclusion criteria
Residents: • Sensory or physical that would preclude data collection participation or cause unacceptable distress, as determined by the facility managers, RACH staff and/or research teams’ clinical judgement at the point of enrolment • Other health impairment that would preclude data collection participation, for example, receiving medication to support end-of-life care (e.g., morphine syringe driver). • Have superficial, rapidly healing wounds such as abrasions, blisters, or lacerations • Not fluent in spoken or written English RACH staff and external healthcare providers: • Not fluent in spoken or written English
Outcome results
None listed