title: Histogram Planimetry Method for the Measurement of Irregular Wounds.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Irregularly shaped wounds or flap borders usually require specified software or devices to measure their area and follow-up wound healing. In this study, an easy way of area measurement called histogram planimetry (HP) for wounds with irregular geometric shapes is defined and compared to conventional millimetric wound measurement.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten irregularly bordered geometric shapes were measured by 4 different individuals working as surgical assistants using both HP and manual millimetric measurement tools. The amount of time for each wound shape calculation as well as the measurements of the wound areas were noted. All measurements were compared for each method and between each individual using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no statistically significant difference between 2 measurement methods by means of measured areas; however, measurement time was significantly lower when the HP method was used. There also was no significant difference between the individuals' measurements and calculation times. These results indicated that HP is useful as a conventional millimetric square wound measurement technique with significantly lower measurement times.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Due to the development of photo-editor software technologies, measurements in the surgical field have become more accurate and rapid than conventional manual methods without consuming the time and energy needed for other studies. A future study including comparisons between the presented method and complex computerized measurement methods, in terms of duration and accuracy, may provide additional supportive data for the authors' method.
authors.forename: Nebil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yesiloglu
authors.forename: Kemalettin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yildiz
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cem Akpinar
authors.forename: Tahsin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gorgulu
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sirinoglu
authors.forename: Arzu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ozcan
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D015588:Observer Variation; D010781:Photography / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012984:Software / Q000191:economics; D014945:Wound Healing; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*