Scout + Monk Skin Tone Scale®

Advancing health equity shouldn't be hard.

We can help.

Announcing integration of the Monk Skin Tone Scale® with the WoundVision Scout platform.

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Scout + Monk Skin Tone Scale®

Complete MST Scale

As the industry pioneers in multimodal skin and wound imaging, our foundation has been and always will be long-wave infrared thermography (LWIT). Unlike traditional skin assessments that rely on subjective visual cues, often ineffective across darker skin tones, LWIT is scientifically validated to perform consistently across all patients, regardless of pigmentation.

We’re building on that foundation by incorporating the Monk Skin Tone Scale® into the WoundVision Scout platform, enabling documentation and analysis of skin tone alongside thermal imaging data. We believe this fusion of thermal objectivity with skin tone awareness will enable clinicians to better understand patient risk and eliminate disparities in documentation. 

To learn more about the science behind the Monk Skin Tone Scale and its creator, Dr. Ellis Monk, visit monkscale.com. 

Explore how Scout's thermal imaging and skin tone documentation work together, and schedule a demo to learn more.

Monk-Scale-Scout-Screenshot-Example

The Monk Skin Tone (MST) Scale is currently available as a research tool only. Contact clinical@woundvision.com to learn more about accessing this powerful feature.

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Scale Usage Citation: Monk, Ellis. “Monk Skin Tone Scale,” 2019. https://skintone.google.

Monk-Skin-Tone-Scale-Swatch

Challenges of Dark Skin Assessment

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Solutions for Dark Skin Assessment

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Scout-Users-Monk-Skin-Tone-Scales

How LWIT Works Equally Across Diverse Skin Tones

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A Problem Worth Solving

The Challenge of Assessing Dark Skin Tones

  • The early signs of pressure injury aren’t easily identified in dark skin tones.1
  • Pressure injury assessment in dark skin tones is inaccurate and can result in delayed identification.2
  • The visual cues associated with DTPI may appear differently in dark skin.1
  • Patients with dark skin tones are more likely to develop higher-stage pressure injuries.2
  • Discrepancies and systemic biases across healthcare systems can result in patients with dark skin receiving suboptimal care.3
  • Studies have shown nursing education lacks diversity in formal training for skin tone assessment.4
1 NPIAP, 2014, 2 Oozageer Gunowa et al, 2017, 3 Pramod et al, 2024, 4 Oozageer Gunowa et al, 2020
Skin-Tone
Backed by Science, Research and Clinical Practice Guidelines

The Solution for Assessing Dark Skin Tones

Enhance Your Assessment With Long-Wave Infrared Thermography (LWIT)

Left-Heel-Cool

Case #1 - Patient with Darkly Pigmented Skin - Left Heel
No Visible Discoloration w/ Relative Skin Temperature Changes

Relative skin temperature changes over areas of ischemia can present as colder than surrounding skin and tissue.¹

Right-Heel-Warm

Case #2 - Patient with Darkly Pigmented Skin - Right Heel
No Visible Discoloration w/ Relative Skin Temperature Changes

Relative skin temperature changes over areas of inflammation can present as warmer than surrounding skin and tissue.¹

Right-Ischium-Cool

Case #3 - Patient with Darkly Pigmented Skin - Right Ischium
No Visible Discoloration w/ Relative Skin Temperature Changes

Relative skin temperature changes over areas of ischemia can present as colder than surrounding skin and tissue.¹

Sacrococcygeal-Warm

Case #4 - Patient with Darkly Pigmented Skin - Sacrococcygeal
No Visible Discoloration w/ Relative Skin Temperature Changes

Relative skin temperature changes over areas of inflammation can present as warmer than surrounding skin and tissue.¹

Left-Heel-Warm

Case #5 - Patient with Darkly Pigmented Skin - Left Heel
No Visible Discoloration w/ Relative Skin Temperature Changes

Relative skin temperature changes over areas of inflammation can present as warmer than surrounding skin and tissue.¹

Left-Heel-Cool

Case #6 - Patient with Darkly Pigmented Skin - Left Heel
No Visible Discoloration w/ Relative Skin Temperature Changes

Relative skin temperature changes over areas of ischemia can present as colder than surrounding skin and tissue.¹

The Scout Solution
In patients who are darkly pigmented, the visible color of the skin has no impact on the infrared radiation captured by LWIT.

Power of Temperature

In deep tissue pressure injuries, temperature change often precedes skin color changes, with discoloration appearing differently in dark skin.

Universally Reliable

LWIT is unaffected by skin pigmentation, allowing for universal assessment of patients of all skin tones. 

Advocacy

Research has shown LWIT is a powerful, real-time, non-contact, bedside tool that allows clinicians to advocate for patients of all skin tones.

Eliminate Subjectivity

Adding LWIT as an assessment adjunct can improve patient outcomes by providing objective, quantifiable relative temperature data.

¹ European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel and Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance. Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers/Injuries: Clinical Practice Guideline. The International Guideline. Emily Haesler (Ed.). EPUAP/NPIAP/PPPIA: 2019., 2 Charlton M, Stanley SA, Whitman Z, Wenn V, Coats TJ, Sims M, Thompson JP. The effect of constitutive pigmentation on the measured emissivity of human skin., 3 Aviles, Early Detection of Darkly Pigmented Skin Abnormalities with Long Wave Infrared Thermography: It’s All Relative!, 2023,
Thermal Emissivity of LWIT

Equal Accuracy Across Diverse Skin Tones

While melanin affects what your eyes can see on the skin's surface, it doesn't affect the thermal energy emitted from deeper tissue—where pressure injuries start. Studies confirm human skin has equal thermal emissivity of energy across all skin tones (0.98), making Scout equitable for every patient.

Thermal_Emissivity

Performance was consistent across Fitzpatrick skin types, offering an objective, equitable adjunct to clinical assessment.

Burke, Bilik et al, 2025

Skin pigmentation does not affect thermal emissivity, which is approximately 0.98 across all skin tones.

Charlton et al, 2020

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