Methods, computer-readable media, and systems for assessing samples and wounds, predicting whether a wound will heal, and monitoring effectiveness of a treatment

Overview

In the United States 29.1 million people (9.3% of the population) have diabetes. Foot ulcerations are a frequent complication in diabetic patients and lead to over 82,000 lower limb amputations annually in the United States, and are associated with a 5-year mortality rate of up to 74%. The major challenge in treating diabetic ulcers stems from patient-to-patient variability: currently it is not known why some patients respond to certain treatments, while others do not. Drexel University researchers have recently discovered gene expression signatures that were predictive of healing or non-healing in a 21 patient co-hort. These methods afford promise of cultivating treatment strategies for individual patients on a personalized basis (i.e., predicting which class of wound treatment a particular patient is most likely to respond to). Drexel is currently seeking partners for the commercialization of this technology.

Applications

Surrogate marker of wound healing to aid physician’s decision-making in the clinic.
Allows physician to choose optimal treatment strategies for individual patients on a personalized basis.
Clinical trial patient stratification in trials for new wound healing treatments.

Advantages

Enhance quality of care in patients with chronic wounds.
Lower cost of care in patients with chronic wounds by shortening time and decreasing resources dedicated to non-effective interventions.
Allow objective evaluation of the efficacy of wound care treatments.
Improve efficiency of clinical trials for new wound healing treatments.
Enhance marketing material by showing quantitative measures of healing.