Exploring the Value of Continuous Plantar Temperature Monitoring for Diabetic Foot Health Management: Observational,...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Diabetes Care
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a severe complication of diabetes.
• Current guidelines recommend daily foot temperature monitoring to detect inflammation.
• Single daily readings may lead to misdiagnosis due to physiological signal fluctuations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the stability of intraday temperature asymmetry signals in individuals at risk of DFUs.
• To determine if temperature asymmetry varies significantly over time within a 90-day period.

Main Methods:

• 64 participants with diabetes used multimodal sensory insoles for continuous plantar temperature monitoring.
• Temperature data was collected every minute at 5 plantar locations for 90 days.
• The augmented Dickey-Fuller test analyzed signal stationarity (constant vs. time-varying).

Main Results:

• 82% of temperature asymmetry signals were nonstationary, indicating time-varying patterns.
• 44% of nonstationary signals fluctuated around the 2.2 °C asymmetry threshold.
• Significant variability in signal stationarity was observed within and across participants.

Conclusions:

• Continuous plantar temperature monitoring offers superior insights compared to daily measurements for DFU management.
• Intraday variability necessitates continuous monitoring to avoid false positives/negatives.
• Advanced monitoring can enhance diagnostic accuracy and enable personalized diabetes care.