Development and evaluation of a novel smart device-based application for burn assessment and management.

Abstract

We have developed a novel software application that provides a simple and interactive Lund-Browder diagram for automatic calculation of total body surface area (TBSA) burned, fluid formula recommendations, and serial wound photography on a smart device platform. The software was developed for the iPad (Apple, Cupertino, CA) smart device platforms. Ten burns ranging from 5 to 95% TBSA were computer generated on a patient care simulator using Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Adobe, San Jose, CA). Burn clinicians calculated the TBSA first using a paper-based Lund-Browder diagram. Following a one-week "washout period", the same clinicians calculated TBSA using the smart device application. Simulated burns were presented in a random fashion and clinicians were timed. Percent TBSA burned calculated by Peregrine vs. the paper-based Lund-Browder were similar (29.53 [25.57] vs. 28.99 [25.01], p=0.22, n=7). On average, Peregrine allowed users to calculate burn size significantly faster than the paper form (58.18 [31.46] vs. 90.22 [60.60]s, p<0.001, n=7). The smart device application also provided 5 megapixel photography capabilities, and acute burn resuscitation fluid calculator. We developed an innovative smart device application that enables accurate and rapid burn size assessment to be cost-effective and widely accessible.