Keeping track of how quickly deep wounds heal usually involves nothing more high-tech than a ruler. If the wound hasn’t halved in volume in four weeks then there’s a 95 per cent chance it won’t heal, indicating the need for a change in treatment. But such methods carry a risk of infection, so Aranz Medical in Christchurch, New Zealand, has developed a contactless, hand-held scanner to do the job. The device, called Silhouette, uses lasers and a digital camera to accurately record the length, width and depth of a wound.
IBM is bringing together computer scientists, neurobiologists and materials scientists…
