Remote photo and thermal checks to spot cesarean wound infections
Official title: Image-based algorithms for remote cesarean surgical site infection diagnoses in diverse populations
Funded at Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · NIH-11397943 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses photos and thermal images to help healthcare workers detect wound infections after cesarean delivery in women from Rwanda, Ghana, and Mexico.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $126,774 |
| NIH project number | 3R01HD112403-02S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11397943 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Women who have recently had a cesarean delivery at participating hospitals or clinics in Rwanda, Ghana, or Mexico and can be followed for a postoperative wound check around day 10.
✕Less likely to help
People without a cesarean wound, those not in the participating countries or sites, or those unable or unwilling to provide wound images are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
If you join, you'll be followed after your cesarean and asked to have photos and thermal images taken of your wound around 10 days after surgery. These images will be run through two computer algorithms—one using regular photographs and one using heat-pattern (thermal) images—to identify possible infections. The study will enroll about 6,000 women (2,000 each in Rwanda, Ghana, and Mexico) to see how well the tools work across different countries and skin tones. Researchers may update the algorithms based on what they find and plan to work with community health workers so results could be used during routine home or clinic follow-up.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could enable faster, more accurate remote detection of cesarean wound infections so treatment can start sooner and complications may be reduced.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier versions of these algorithms trained in rural Rwanda showed promising accuracy (visible images ~83% sensitivity/75% specificity; thermal ~95% sensitivity/84% specificity), but broader testing across countries and skin tones is still needed.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hedt-Gauthier, Bethany — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Hedt-Gauthier, Bethany
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.