A non-invasive photonics-based device for monitoring of diabetic foot ulcers: Architectural/sensorial components & technical specifications

This paper proposes a new photonic-based non-invasive device for managing of Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFUs) for people suffering from diabetes. DFUs are one of the main severe complications of diabetes, which may lead to major disabilities, such as foot amputation, or even to the death. The proposed device exploits hyperspectral (HSI) and thermal imaging to measure the status of an ulcer, in contrast to the current practice where invasive biopsies are often applied. In particular, these two photonic-based imaging techniques can estimate the biomarkers of oxyhaemoglobin (HbO2) and deoxyhaemoglobin (Hb), through which the Peripheral Oxygen Saturation (SpO2) and Tissue Oxygen Saturation (StO2) is computed. These factors are very important for the early prediction and prognosis of a DFU. The device is implemented at two editions: the in-home edition suitable for patients and the PRO (professional) edition for the medical staff. The latter is equipped with active photonic tools, such as tuneable diodes, to permit detailed diagnosis and treatment of an ulcer and its progress. The device is enriched with embedding signal processing tools for noise removal and enhancing pixel accuracy using super resolution schemes. In addition, a machine learning framework is adopted, through deep learning structures, to assist the doctors and the patients in understanding the effect of the biomarkers on DFU. The device is to be validated at large scales at three European hospitals (Charité–University Hospital in Berlin, Germany; Attikon in Athens, Greece, and Victor Babes in Timisoara, Romania) for its efficiency and performance.