A modeling approach for burn scar assessment using natural features and elastic property

A modeling approach is presented for quantitative burn scar assessment. Emphases are given to: 1) constructing a finite-element model from natural image features with an adaptive mesh and 2) quantifying the Young´s modulus of scars using the finite-element model and regularization method. A set of natural point features is extracted from the images of burn patients. A Delaunay triangle mesh is then generated that adapts to the point features. A three-dimensional finite-element model is built on top of the mesh with the aid of range images providing the depth information. The Young´s modulus of scars is quantified with a simplified regularization functional, assuming that the knowledge of the scar´s geometry is available. The consistency between the relative elasticity index and the physician´s rating based on the Vancouver scale (a relative scale used to rate burn scars) indicates that the proposed modeling approach has high potential for image-based quantitative burn scar assessment.