Laser biostimulation and monitorization of wound healing by means of bioimpedance measurements

Wound healing is critically important for the quality of life. Substantial number of patients suffering from non-healing chronic wounds and having serious difficulties in their daily life are reported in wound healing studies. However the exact mechanism of healing is not fully understood yet. Scientists have been investigating modalities for stimulating the wound healing process. Laser photobiomodulation has become widespread supporting the idea of therapeutic effects of laser irradiation in biological tissues recently. Conventional methods for following the healing generally lack of objectiveness and repeatability. Thus, a new non-invasive, repeatable and cost effective method was needed. The aim of this study was to investigate the laser photobiomodulation on wound healing and monitor the healing process in-vivo by means of multi-frequency electrical bioimpedance measurements. Photobiomodulated in-vitro cell proliferation examinations were followed by in-vivo experiments on cutaneous skin wounds. Changes in the electrical properties of the wounds were examined with multi-frequency electrical impedance measurements on predetermined days of healing. Morphological, histological and mechanical examinations were used to find out the relationship between electrical properties of tissues and cellular events occurring during the healing process. Our findings showed the biostimulating effects of laser irradiation both in-vitro and in-vivo. The electrical impedance measurement results supported the idea of laser biostimulation on healing of cutaneous skin wounds. It is also shown that electrical bioimpedance measurements may be considered as a supporting non-invasive method for monitoring the healing process of skin wounds.