New technology hopes to reduce diabetic foot amputations

The Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT) has funded the National Physical Laboratory’s development of an innovative new thermal imaging technology which it is hoped could reduce diabetic foot amputations.

People with diabetes are at risk of developing foot ulcers, which can become infected if left untreated and this can lead to amputation. Before a foot ulcer develops, the temperature of the skin increases near the site of ulceration. However, current temperature measurement techniques only measure a single area of skin at a time, making them slow and subjective, and often limiting them to the sole of the foot, where just 40 per cent of ulcers are found.

A team at the UK’s national metrology institute, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), have developed a new thermal imaging technology that can accurately capture the entire surface temperature of the foot in seconds. It is hoped that this technology will reduce the risk of thousands of potential ulcers being missed by clinicians each year, with the potential for further use in other medical applications.

It is estimated that the technology could prevent 170 amputations a week in England, improve patient quality of life and reduce mortality rates. Early detection decreases the need for amputations, which, according to figures from 2017, costs the NHS around £1.1 billion a year.

NPL were awarded £248,502 by the Knowledge Asset Grant Fund (KAGF) in 2021 to help grow and develop their new thermal imaging company, Celsius Health. They were then awarded a further £210,880 in January 2023 to help bring the technology closer to patients.

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