Man or machine? The clinimetric properties of laser Doppler imaging in burn depth assessment.

Burns of an indeterminate depth present a challenge to burns surgeons and nurses on a daily basis in terms of healing and subsequent management, be it by a surgical or a more conservative approach. Laser Doppler imaging has become an important diagnostic modality in assisting the clinical decision-making process, being used widely in burns units throughout the United Kingdom and the rest of the world. Clinimetrics focuses on the methodology of measuring various biological parameters, and this article aims to describe laser Doppler imaging in this context by appraising the current body of evidence that illustrate its various properties. The authors conclude that indeterminate burn depth assessment should be a clinical judgment assisted by information provided by this device.