Early Evidence and Market Research

As part of the due diligence process, we were given access to a number of test images taken at Newcastle hospital together with scientific publications. One of the publications applied the LDI technique to burn assessment and whilst the study was minute (10 patients) it was a significant indication for us of how the technique could be developed into a clinically useful tool. This publication proved to be “the acorn moment”.
Further research showed that at this time, how you were treated as a burn victim largely relied on the clinical experience and eyes of the surgeon. However, even the best surgeons were honest that, at times, in the more difficult cases, accurate diagnosis was incredibly difficult. In those cases, the standard procedure would be to wait and see how the burn healed (or not) to decide whether a burn should be grafted or not waiting maybe, upwards of two weeks. It seemed somehow as if burn victims had been left behind in hospital diagnostics at a time when it would be unthinkable not to have an X-ray for a broken bone. Thus, we resolved to produce a system that would aid the burn surgeon with more accurate diagnosis as early as possible after the burn to minimise time to surgery if needed. Thus the Newcastle publication, and this prototype, came together at the right time for us to embark on what would become a major investment project to help revolutionise patient care aiming to make burn assessment much less subjective and more consistent.
Whilst the Newcastle prototype was working (and could scan a patient across a room!), it was large and wall mounted. Our designers focussed on making the system smaller and more mobile, without compromising performance. T