Thermography and thermometry in the assessment of diabetic neuropathic foot: a case for furthering the role of thermal techniques.

There are currently 3 established techniques employed routinely to determine the risk of foot ulceration in the patient with diabetes mellitus. These are the assessment of circulation, neuropathy, and foot pressure. These assessments are widely used clinically as well as in the research domain with an aim to prevent the onset of foot ulceration.

Noninvasive measurement techniques for monitoring of microvascular function in the diabetic foot.

There are, currently, 3 established clinical techniques routinely employed to determine the risk of ulceration in the diabetic foot. These are assessment of the circulation, the nervous control of sensation, and foot sensitivity to loading. Macrovascular measurements are used to assess sufficiency of the arterial supply to the foot.

In-shoe measurement of plantar blood flow in diabetic subjects: results of a preliminary clinical evaluation.

The findings of clinical pilot study (n = 9 subjects) using a new laser Doppler sensor for assessing blood flux in plantar skin tissue are described. Cutaneous blood perfusion was recorded under the first metatarsal head (right foot) in standing and walking. The sensor was located in a measurement shoe custom made for each test subject.

Progress towards automated diabetic ocular screening: a review of image analysis and intelligent systems for diabetic retinopathy.

Patients with diabetes require annual screening for effective timing of sight-saving treatment. However, the lack of screening and the shortage of ophthalmologists limit the ocular health care available. This is stimulating research into automated analysis of the reflectance images of the ocular fundus.

An in-shoe laser Doppler sensor for assessing plantar blood flow in the diabetic foot.

Increased pressure due, to sensory neuropathy, is important in the development of plantar ulceration in type II diabetes. However, additional factors are thought to pre-dispose the skin tissue to ulceration. Autonomic neuropathy and microangiopathy are the basis for the capillary steal theory and the haemodynamic hypothesis, developed to explain the aetiology of this type of ulcer, in terms of microvascular complications.