Which plantar region can predict peripheral arterial disease by using laser speckleflowgraphy?

Area of Science:

• Vascular Medicine
• Medical Imaging Technology
• Diagnostic Techniques

Background:

• Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) affects lower extremity circulation.
• Accurate assessment of skin blood flow in the lower extremities is crucial for PAD diagnosis.
• Laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG) is an emerging technology for non-invasive blood flow measurement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare plantar skin blood flow between patients with and without PAD using LSFG.
• To evaluate the accuracy of LSFG in predicting PAD compared to the ankle-brachial index (ABI).
• To determine the diagnostic potential of LSFG for assessing lower extremity circulatory status.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study involving 28 PAD patients and 37 controls from 2017-2021.
• Plantar skin blood flow measured using LSFG across 12 distinct regions.
• Comparison of LSFG data with ankle-brachial index (ABI) measurements.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in plantar skin blood flow were observed between PAD patients and controls across all 12 measured points.
• The ratio of blood flow in toe 1 showed high accuracy in differentiating between groups.
• LSFG measurement of toe 1 demonstrated high sensitivity (89%) and comparable false-negative rates to ABI, with lower specificity.

Conclusions:

• LSFG is a viable tool for estimating skin blood flow in the plantar region.
• Measuring blood flow in toe 1 using LSFG shows promise as a supplementary diagnostic method for PAD.
• LSFG offers a potential non-invasive approach to assess lower extremity vascular health.