Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a disease associated with high blood sugars and can cause several complications, one of which affects the feet. People with diabetes have a very high risk of developing a foot ulcer and this ulcer can lead to infection, sepsis, amputation and even death. Therefore all efforts to prevent an ulcer and commence early treatment are needed.
People with DM have a high incidence of loss of sensation (neuropathy) to their feet and consequently, signals of infection such as pain, throbbing, increased heat may be absent. Everyday, we take temperature and blood pressure readings as a way of diagnosing illness, making a treatment plan and monitoring a response to treatment. But, when we look at a wound, we make judgements based on the experience and opinion of the clinician. Apart from measuring size we do not have objective methods to assess a wound and made decisions. To address this gap and unmet clinical need we are working towards the development of ‘tools’ that will be cheap and easy to use in any clinical setting.
Our previous work has identified for the first time, what is a normal wound temperature. Now we want to identify what is the temperature when a wound is infected or suspected of being infected. We will record and map the wound temperature, and size and take wound photos in people with diabetic foot ulcers with the ultimate goal of early recognition of infection so that timely, appropriate treatments may prevent more serious problems.
