Case Study: Institute for Biodiagnostics achieves early, noninvasive burn assessment with MathWorks

Canada's Institute for Biodiagnostics Develops an Imaging Tool for Assessing Burn Injuries

The Institute for Biodiagnostics, a division of Canada’s National Research Council, needed an objective, early method to assess burn depth and severity because visual inspection and existing techniques often miss injuries that worsen over time. To explore near‑infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and imaging approaches and rapidly test many algorithms, the team adopted MathWorks — principally MATLAB with Image Processing Toolbox, Signal Processing Toolbox, Optimization Toolbox, and Wavelet Toolbox — as their flexible analysis and prototyping environment.

Using MathWorks tools, researchers combined NIR spectrometer and CCD camera data, applied wavelet compression, image registration, signal processing, and optimization methods to quantify hemoglobin, oxygen saturation, and blood volume in injured tissue. The MathWorks‑based workflow produced a noninvasive imaging tool that distinguishes burn severity early enough to inform treatment, has shown promising results in clinical trials at Sunnybrook Hospital, accelerated algorithm development (for example, enabling a method change within days), and is being advanced toward commercial/FDA approval.