Jamestown Regional Medical Center (JRMC) is highlighting new advancements in wound care technology during Wound Care Awareness Week (June 9-13), a national observance established by Healogics®. The event marks more than a decade of care through JRMC’s Advanced Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Center.
New tools being introduced at the JRMC Advanced Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Center include the Smart Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI), a diagnostic device used for lower-extremity wounds, and bacteria-detecting goggles designed to identify infection-causing material. Both technologies represent a shift toward more precise, noninvasive wound care.
The Smart ABI is used for patients with lower-extremity wounds, especially those with diabetes. Using specialized Bluetooth cuffs for arms and legs, the device measures blood pressure and oxygenation levels. While traditional ABI tests require a manual blood pressure cuff and a handheld ultrasound device to be used together, the Smart ABI can automatically analyze and generate readings that wirelessly upload to JRMC’s electronic medical records system.
“It takes the guesswork out of this element of treatment,” said Kayla Rodin, JRMC wound program coordinator. “Automation of the ABI reading removes the variation in human technique and gives us consistent, accurate results that we can rely on for treatment decisions.”
This process significantly reduces the risk of human error associated with manual blood pressure readings and the need for referrals to external radiology services, which are often required with traditional ABI tests.
The JRMC Advanced Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Center has also implemented new bacteria-detecting goggles as an advanced and noninvasive way to detect bioburden — dead tissue, bacteria and other cellular debris — in a wound. Identifying and removing this bioburden helps prevent infection and encourages faster healing.
The goggles, which use blue light to view bacteria that may be left after an initial wound cleaning, seem futuristic in appearance.
“They look like something out of science fiction, but they’re real — and they are helping us fight infection in a smarter way,” Rodin said.
New technology is valued at the Advanced Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Center to keep patients healthy and healing faster and more efficiently. The center has consistently led the region and state in wound care technology and remains committed to maintaining that leadership.
“We are always looking for tools that streamline care and improve outcomes, and technologies like these do exactly that,” Rodin said.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment requires a provider referral, but care at the Wound Center is available by self-referral. Wound care is available at the JRMC Carrington Clinic, as well as the JRMC Specialty Clinic.