Wound Viewer from Omnidermal: using AI to monitor wounds

Caring for chronic wounds is a tedious task for caregivers and physicians, as these wounds take a long time to heal and may easily worsen. They also require a lot of documentation to plan and monitor treatment. With the Wound Viewer from Omnidermal Biomedics, a device is available that supports medical staff in this task.

Omnidermal Biomedics displayed the Wound Viewer in the MEDICA START-UP PARK at MEDICA 2022 for the third time already. In this interview with MEDICA-tradefair.com, Jacopo Secco explains how the AI-based device can be used to monitor chronic wounds and what benefits this brings to physicians, caregivers and patients.

Mr. Secco, can you please explain to us what the Wound Viewer from Omnidermal is?

Jacopo Secco: The Wound Viewer is a telemedical device that has the scope of monitoring chronic wounds through our proprietary AI algorithm. It can measure wounds and classify them in three validated clinical scales that relate to wound bed preparation, time, and, in the case of diabetic foot ulcers, depths.

It has been designed to be quick, precise and easy to use in order to make it as useful as possible for caregivers, as they usually have little time and wound care is complicated. So, our idea was to make wound data available in a fast and automated fashion and organize them in our platform that can be integrated with internal hospital EMRs.

How would caregivers use the device as part of their usual workday?

Secco: Patient data can either be uploaded manually or be directly imported from a hospital’s or a home care service’s systems. To use it, the operator just must take a picture of the wound. The Wound Viewer then identifies and measures the wound and records all necessary parameters. This data is exchanged with our platform, so the physician in charge of these patients and their wound treatment receives all information about a wound and how it changes over time.

Where does this idea come from?

Secco: The clinical father of the idea is Elia Ricci. He is a wound care specialist and one of the most important key opinion leaders in this field in Europe. One day, he told us that he wanted a device that was able to automate all of the work related to wound care because he was overwhelmed by those patients and did not have enough time to manage all of their data. As biomedical engineers, we came up with this solution based on his criteria. It was designed side by side with home care specialists.

Can you tell us more about the benefits? Why should caregivers and physicians use it?

Secco: The first reason is the standardization of cure. With the Wound Viewer, you know exactly, from visit to visit, if therapy works for a given patient. It makes even slight changes of the wound visible.

Secondly, it has a cost benefit. We will soon publish a clinical study that has been conducted on the use of the Wound Viewer in Italy. It shows that the Wound Viewer has the possibility to reduce the cost of care, because therapies can be tailored and performed to the specific needs of the patients.

And thirdly, there is a legal benefit. It many cases, mostly when bedsores are involved, wound care is the subject of litigations. The data the Wound Viewer collects are secured through a blockchain, so it enables legal validation of all actions the caretakers perform.

What role does AI play in it?

Secco: It is central, as all the analysis, classifications and measurements are performed through AI. We have developed these algorithms ourselves, and they were especially designed for wound care. It is a pixel-by-pixel technology that really helps to understand the changes of a wound, even if they come in very, very small variations.

You were exhibiting at the MEDICA START-UP PARK, so the device is already on the market?

Secco: It is. Currently, the Wound Viewer is available in Italy, Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic. And thanks to MEDICA, we will reach the rest of Europe shortly.

We have exhibited at MEDICA 2019 for the first time, then 2021 again because of the corona pandemic. So, this is our third time here, and it is a great experience as always. You get to meet a lot of new people, get to know markets and wound care specialists from all around the world. It is always nice to see new ideas and solutions and also to get to know the other companies here at the stand who may bring benefit to us and to whom we may bring benefit as well.

What feedback do you get from the visitors?

Secco: The feedback is pretty positive. They recognize that this technology has a big potential, as wound care is becoming more and more important, even thanks to the corona virus. Seriously ill patients, who had to stay in bed for many weeks, developed bedsores. And now people really understand what the importance of wound care is and what impact is has on today’s society. They see that we developed a 360-degree device that helps physicians, caregivers and patients.

And what are your plans for the future?

Secco: In the next few years, we plan to expand our platform, so it can not only be used in wound care, but to cover all kind of dermatological pathologies and lesions. I believe we can reach this goal shortly because we have a great R&D team.