TY - JOUR
T1 - Validation of low-cost smartphone-based thermal camera for diabetic foot assessment
AU - van Doremalen, R. F.M.
AU - van Netten, J. J.
AU - van Baal, J. G.
AU - Vollenbroek-Hutten, M. M.R.
AU - van der Heijden, F.
PY - 2019/3/1
Y1 - 2019/3/1
N2 - Aims: Infrared thermal imaging (IR) is not yet routinely implemented for early detection of diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), despite proven clinical effectiveness. Low-cost, smartphone-based IR-cameras are now available and may lower the threshold for implementation, but the quality of these cameras is unknown. We aim to validate a smartphone-based IR-camera against a high-end IR-camera for diabetic foot assessment. Methods: We acquired plantar IR images of feet of 32 participants with a current or recently healed DFU with the smartphone-based FLIR-One and the high-end FLIR-SC305. Contralateral temperature differences of the entire plantar foot and nine pre-specified regions were compared for validation. Intra-class correlations coefficient (ICC(3,1)) and Bland-Altman plots were used to test agreement. Clinical validity was assessed by calculating statistical measures of diagnostic performance. Results: Almost perfect agreement was found for temperature measurements in both the entire plantar foot and the combined pre-specified regions, respectively, with ICC values of 0.987 and 0.981, Bland-Altman plots’ mean Δ = −0.14 and Δ = −0.06. Diagnostic accuracy showed 94% and 93% sensitivity, and 86% and 91% specificity. Conclusions: The smartphone-based IR-camera shows excellent validity for diabetic foot assessment.
AB - Aims: Infrared thermal imaging (IR) is not yet routinely implemented for early detection of diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), despite proven clinical effectiveness. Low-cost, smartphone-based IR-cameras are now available and may lower the threshold for implementation, but the quality of these cameras is unknown. We aim to validate a smartphone-based IR-camera against a high-end IR-camera for diabetic foot assessment. Methods: We acquired plantar IR images of feet of 32 participants with a current or recently healed DFU with the smartphone-based FLIR-One and the high-end FLIR-SC305. Contralateral temperature differences of the entire plantar foot and nine pre-specified regions were compared for validation. Intra-class correlations coefficient (ICC(3,1)) and Bland-Altman plots were used to test agreement. Clinical validity was assessed by calculating statistical measures of diagnostic performance. Results: Almost perfect agreement was found for temperature measurements in both the entire plantar foot and the combined pre-specified regions, respectively, with ICC values of 0.987 and 0.981, Bland-Altman plots’ mean Δ = −0.14 and Δ = −0.06. Diagnostic accuracy showed 94% and 93% sensitivity, and 86% and 91% specificity. Conclusions: The smartphone-based IR-camera shows excellent validity for diabetic foot assessment.
KW - Diabetes mellitus
KW - Diabetic foot
KW - Foot ulcer
KW - Smartphone
KW - Temperature
KW - Thermal infrared
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85061665944&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.diabres.2019.01.032
DO - 10.1016/j.diabres.2019.01.032
M3 - Article
C2 - 30738090
AN - SCOPUS:85061665944
SN - 0168-8227
VL - 149
SP - 132
EP - 139
JO - Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice
JF - Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice
ER -
