Diabetic foot syndrome, a consequence of Diabetes is, after traumatic accidents, the main cause of amputations. Currently there is no established method for its early diagnosis and prevention of its consequences. Terahertz imaging is capable of mapping the cutaneous hydration, an indicator of the diabetic foot deterioration. We performed imaging on 198 patients including non-diabetic, controlled and deteriorated diabetics, which is, as far as we know, the largest human population ever imaged with terahertz. Our terahertz measurements combined with neurological and vascular assessment of the patients indicates that the dehydration is related to neuropathy without a significant vascular cause.
In this work, the development of a technique for the early diagnosis of diabetic foot using terahertz spectroscopic images is presented. The degree of hydration of the skin on the sole of the foot of diabetic and non-diabetic subjects was obtained and related to the degree of deterioration. The hydration information was coded in three- color (red, yellow and greed) images which allow to easily identify areas in risk of ulceration. The hydration images together with the three-color images represent a quantitative indicator of the deterioration caused by the diabetic foot syndrome.
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