ITACA: designing pressure ulcer assessment models by means of telematic clinical data processing
Lista de autores
1º Autor
Laura Morente Morente
2º Autor
Esperanza Ruiz
3º Autor
Antonio Soldado
4º Autor
Francisco J. Veredas
Classical models of pressure ulcer (PU) assessment are designed with
these two major purposes: (1) classification, for grading, staging or
estimation of healing scores, by using a reduced set of standardized scales;
and (2) prediction, with risk assessment scales (RAS). Only a small number of
the numerous RASs recently published has been sufficiently documented and
validated. In addition, some studies have evidenced: (1) potential biases
inherent to the design of all these RASs; (2) serious difficulties to isolate
the contribution of each parameter of the RAS; and (3) some differences among
independent validation studies on the same RAS. In this paper we present the
tool ITACA (Information Technologies Applied to Clinical Assessment), which is
embedded into a more extensive matrix project with the main objective of
designing new efficient valuation models for PU assessment.
ITACA gets use of information and telecommunication technologies for
extensively collecting and processing data of different populations of patients
with PU pathologies. Once those data are locally collected for each patient,
they are transfer to a centralized database by the Internet. The design of the
data collection task for each patient includes the acquisition of digital images
of wounds, for the automatic extraction of significant features which will be
considered as objective parameters for the new models.
Resultados
This new methodology inaugurated with ITACA, allows that relevant
clinical data, including images of wounds, will be automatically and
efficiently processed and stored. The data will be used for the forthcoming
design, with statistical and computational techniques, of new more accurate
models of PU assessments: estimation of the risk of developing a PU, wound classification
and prediction of evolution.
With ITACA we have now an
efficient tool which helps us to systematically collect and store clinical data
for the design of new PU assessment models. It allows the independent or
collaborative management of different populations. It will also facilitate the
later implementation of a web site for the remote publication of contents,
querying and updating of data, cooperation of experts, etc., all with regard to
PU researching tasks. The quality of
nursing care would be improved by the benefits of using this methodology.