title: A review of thermal methods and technologies for diabetic foot assessment.
abstract: Temperature analysis has been considered as a complementary method in medical evaluation and diagnosis. Several studies demonstrated that monitoring the temperature variations of the feet of diabetic patients can be helpful in the early identification of diabetic foot manifestations, and also in changing behaviors, which may contribute to reducing its incidence. In this review, several and most used techniques for assessing the temperature of the feet are presented, along with original published work on specific applications in diabetic foot complications. A review of solutions and equipment that operate according to the temperature assessment techniques is also presented. Finally, a comparison between the various technologies is presented, and the authors share their perspective on what will be the state of affairs in 5 years.
authors.affiliation: Ambient Living Computing and Telecommunications Laboratory, Instituto de Telecomunicações, University of Beira Interior, Rua Marquês d'Ávila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Felizardo
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Couto
authors.forename: Nuno M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Garcia
mesh_terms: D001831:Body Temperature; D017719:Diabetic Foot / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005528:Foot; D006801:Humans; D013817:Thermography / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*
keywords: diabetic foot; diagnosis; infrared thermography; liquid crystals thermography; self-management; temperature monitoring; ulcer prevention