Fluorescent imaging technology (MolecuLight DX™) as tool to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of wounds in animals?

Background

Wounds are one of the most common conditions requiring s affecting horses and often require veterinary care. Successful healing requires a clean wound, making appropriate wound cleaning and debridement essential components of treatment. Effective and rapid wound healing contributes to improved animal welfare, reduce the need for antibiotics, and decrease costs for horse owners.

As part of an ongoing doctoral project, different wound-cleaning methods are being evaluated in addition to conventional wound irrigation, including mechanical debridement with a scalpel, coblation, and Versajet. To assess the effectiveness of these treatments, MolecuLight DX™ is used—a non-invasive, portable digital imaging technology that enables real-time visualization of bacterial presence in wounds through fluorescence imaging.

In equine wound treatment, it can be challenging to determine the extent and clinical significance of bacterial contamination. Improved knowledge in this area may provide a better basis for selecting appropriate treatment strategies and determining the extent of debridement required. The use of MolecuLight DX™ in real time during wound debridement may support clinical decision-making by providing immediate information on areas with bacterial burden and helping determine whether sufficient infected tissue has been removed. Given the lack of published studies evaluating the use of MolecuLight DX™ for wound treatment in horses or other animal species, an additional aim of this study is to assess the reliability and clinical applicability of the method.

Project overview

The study is conducted on patients treated at the University Animal Hospital (Equine Clinic), including both outpatients and hospitalized horses. At each examination, multiple images are obtained using MolecuLight DX™, and all images are stored for subsequent analysis. Standardized bacteriological analyses are performed in parallel with fluorescent imaging, with samples collected both before and after surgical procedures when applicable.

Bacterial presence is evaluated through both qualitative and quantitative analyses. The detected bacteria are identified using MALDI-TOF MS, and bacterial load is quantified by serial dilution followed by culture on agar plates.

Objectives

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of fluorescent imaging technology (MolecuLight DX™) as a diagnostic and treatment-support tool for bacterial infections in equine wounds. In addition, the study will investigate associations between clinical wound assessment, fluorescent imaging findings, and bacterial load. Furthermore, the project aims to improve knowledge of the bacterial species commonly associated with acute traumatic wounds and chronic, non-healing wound infections in horses. It will also investigate the variation in bacterial load between different areas of the same wound. Finally, the ambition is to contribute to more optimized wound care, with the goal of improving animal welfare, reducing antibiotic use, and lowering costs for affected horses.