Researchers from the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV) of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), Mexico, developed a low-cost technology to record feet temperature in patients with diabetes in order to generate information that allows timely diagnosis of diabetic foot and prevent serious damage.

First, the researchers created a system to measure the resistance to the passage of electrical stimuli of variable frequency in the tissue (impedance), and then the temperature measurement was made from an infrared image sensor placed in the areas prone to produce ulcers.

“This technology does not require contact with tissue and can be measured at a distance,” says Lorenzo Leija Salas, a researcher at the Bioelectronics Section of the CINVESTAV’s Electrical Engineering Department. Lejia Salas and Arturo Vera lead this project, which also includes the participation of the National Institute of Rehabilitation (INR).

The first tests with the technology proposed by the CINVESTAV were performed on INR patients using a specialized camera.

CINVESTAV researchers foresee that the technology developed can be transferred to a smartphone application so that any user check their own feet temperature and see if they are in the appropriate range; and in case a patient is not within that range, he should consult his doctor.

The inter-institutional project also includes a piece of software that allows recording the clinical history, medical observations and the specific status of the patient.

The registration platform will be filled in the offices and will be stored in a central computer that will store the information and which will be accessed via the web. The patient database will be in custody of the INR, according to procedures for accessing information.

“The intention of the program is that first contact physicians, even those who attend small or isolated communities, have objective information about the physical state of the foot tissues. This information added to the doctor’s own knowledge will help in its diagnosis,” says Leija Salas.

Both software and thermal measurement technology are included in a first prototype. Tests are currently being carried out to strengthen this technology, so that it can be transferred to other health centers. The specialists have already made some intellectual property registrations and are in the process of applying for the patent to protect the development.

 

Source: La Jornada