A new optical method for experimental burn infliction

A Practical Noncontact Model to Create Standardized Experimental Burn Wounds of Any Thickness: Blue Beam Laser Pointer for Burn Induction

The objective of this study was to describe a predictable and easy-to-use model that can create standardized burn wounds. A 450-nm 1000-mW blue beam laser pointer was used to create burn wounds on the dorsal skin of 24 Sprague Dawley rats. Twelve distinct areas of dorsal skin were pulsed for 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, and 23 seconds with the help of a punched plastic card template. Three groups of 8 animals were killed immediately after on the third day and on the seventh day of the procedure and tissue samples were taken for histological evaluation and measurements. A second-degree burn was obtained in all animals with 3 and 5 seconds of laser application on the same day, third day, and seventh day measurements. Seven seconds of application resulted in a burn depth of 84.87% of dermis on the application day which deepened to involve the whole dermal layer on the third and seventh day. Nine seconds and longer application times resulted in third-degree burn wounds. Burn induction with blue beam laser pointer is an easy-to-use, predictable and safe model to create a standardized burn wound of desired thickness.

Temperature controlled burn generation system based on a CO2 laser and a silver halide fiber optic radiometer

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Experimental animal study of burns is dependent on a reliable burn generation system. Most of the experimental systems used today are unable to produce precise partial thickness burns. This limits the ability to study minor changes associated with burn care. The aim of the study was to develop a method for generating burns with a fixed depth using a CO2 laser burn generation system.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The burn generation system was composed of two components: a burn generation device and a temperature sensing and control system. These components were designed to operate together in order to keep a constant, predetermined skin surface temperature during prolonged burn generation. One hundred thirty-eight spot burns were generated on the back of five shaved 450 g male Wistar rats. The rat skin was exposed to a 70 degrees C for 5-60 seconds. The burned areas were excised and underwent evaluation by hematoxylin-eosin-stained slide microscopy.

RESULTS

A linear correlation was found between the duration of exposure and the average burn depth (r = 0.93). This correlation is represented by the equation: burn depth in millimeters = 0.012x (duration in seconds of skin exposure at 70 degrees C).

CONCLUSIONS

The fiber-optic-controlled laser burn generation system studied is a reliable tool for creating partial thickness as well as full thickness skin burns in rats.