Abstract
Diabetic foot syndrome, a long term consequence of Diabetes Mellitus, is the most common cause of non-traumatic amputations. Around 8% of the world population suffers from diabetes, 15% of diabetic patients present a diabetic foot ulcer which leads to amputation in 2.5% of the cases. There is no objective method for the early diagnosis and prevention of the syndrome and its consequences. We test terahertz imaging, which is capable of mapping the cutaneous hydration, for the evaluation of the diabetic foot deterioration as an early diagnostic test as well as ulcers prevention and tracking tool. Furthermore, the analysis of our terahertz measurements combined with neurological and vascular assessment of the patients indicates that the dehydration is mainly related to the peripheral neuropathy without a significant vascular cause.
Highlights
Diabetic foot syndrome, a long term consequence of Diabetes Mellitus, is the most common cause of non-traumatic amputations
The onset of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), which correlates with the formation of ulcers at later stages, is usually evaluated by the Semmes-Weinstein Monofilament (SWM) test[2], which consists in poking the feet soles of the patient with a flexible tip, the patient should report when the pressure is felt
We present a first evaluation of a technique which we call Moisture MApping by Terahertz (MMAT) as a diagnostic test of diabetic foot syndrome
Summary
A long term consequence of Diabetes Mellitus, is the most common cause of non-traumatic amputations. The appearance of peripheral artery disease (PAD), which correlates with the formation of ulcers, is diagnosed by the measurement of the Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI), which compares the blood flow in the arm and ankle arteries as an indicator of vascular deterioration[7] These two techniques, which are used for the clinical evaluation of diabetic foot syndrome, are either subjective or indirect. The water content on the sole of the foot of a group of diabetics and non-diabetics was compared showing significant differences, yet, the studies could not be considered a clinical evaluation of the diagnostic test owing to the small number of subjects tested, a potential bias of age between a younger non-diabetic group and the diabetic group, and the lack of a careful application of golden standards for comparison. The sensitivity, specificity and threshold values of the MMAT technique as diabetic foot diagnostic test are defined
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