A thermoregulation model to detect diabetic peripheral neuropathy
Cold provocation experiments were conducted to evaluate empirically a thermoregulation model of the plantar foot. An infrared camera recorded the temperature of the feet after removal of a cold patch to document the recovery process in order to validate the non linear thermoregulation model. To do so, four healthy controls and four diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) subjects were recruited. The thermal response of six areas of the plantar foot was analyzed. The non linear thermoregulation model is compared to Newton's simple cooling model. The experimental data showed a better performance of the thermoregulation model in the classification of subjects with DPN. In addition, the proposed approach shows a better correlation with areas in the foot with signs of neuropathy.
2016 IEEE Southwest Symposium on Image Analysis and Interpretation (SSIAI)