Systems and methods for capturing and digitizing an image of a wound and/or a wound trace from a patient and determining there from a degree of change in the characteristics of the wound. A first embodiment includes a transparent/translucent film onto which a dark outline of the wound is traced. The film is fixed to a reference template that provides a geometrically defined reference area. The film/template assembly is imaged with a digital imaging device associated with a handheld digital processor (such as a PDA). The digital image of the template and the wound trace are analyzed to identify the wound tracing and quantify the area within the closed curve. A second embodiment includes imaging the wound site with a reference tag and viewing the image on a display with an associated graphical data input device. A trace of the wound perimeter is made on display with the graphical data input device to establish a data set for the wound perimeter. The data set for the wound trace and the reference tag are analyzed to identify and quantify the wound area. In each embodiment, the system includes a display for providing both a view of the wound trace and the calculated data associated with the wound area.