Journal of Vascular Medicine & Surgery

Abstract

Noninvasive Photoacoustic Imaging: A New Diagnostic Tool for Early Detection of Diabetes? A Controlled Comparative Trial of 169 Patients

Jan-Malte Placke, Annika Marleen Hellmich, Dagmar Fuhrer, Susanne Tan, Dai Murakoshi, Jithin Jose, Sandra Hallasch, Maximilian Petri, Ingo Stoffels and Joachim Klode*

Introduction: Microangiopathy in People With Diabetes (PwD) represents the major cause of complications. Detection of microangiopathy at an early stage preventing further damage is challenging. The present study investigated whether dermal differences detected by Photoacoustic Imaging (PAI) may identify diabetes-induced microangiopathy. Patients and methods: In a monocentric study at Department of Dermatology of the Essen University Hospital PAI was performed with and without occlusion of subcutaneous palmar and plantar vessels in PwD and healthy controls. Results: In PwD, measurement of palmar PAI showed higher signal at baseline and after occlusion (both P<0.001). Positive correlation between diabetes duration and palmar PAT measurement was observed at baseline (rho=0.245; P=0.023) and after occlusion (rho=0.269; P=0.012). Abnormal PAI pattern in healthy patients was associated with higher risk of deterioration of glycemic metabolism in the future (OR=6.176; 95%CI=1.731-19.01; P=0.004; sensitivity=73.3%; specifity=67.3%; P=0.008). Conclusion: PAI may serve as a new non-invasive method to detect hyperglycemia-induced microangiopathy. Further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.

Published Date: 2023-08-14; Received Date: 2023-07-14