Analysis of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients by laser speckle measurement techniques

Abstract

Diabetic foot is a well-known problem among patients suffering from peripheral arterial diseases (PAD). This article presents an optical sensor for contactless measurement of the anatomical site based on laser speckle techniques. The sensor illuminates the inspected tissue and analyzes the captured back-reflected light from the time-changing speckle patterns. An occlusion test was implemented to provide a statistical parameter to differentiate between a low perfused and a healthy foot. A clinical study of 15 subjects was conducted. The video was analyzed by two methods: dynamic laser speckle (DLS) and laser speckle contrast analysis (LASCA). Data analysis included several classification models, where the KNN model exhibited maximum performance. These findings suggest that a simple and inexpensive system for PAD monitoring can be designed for home use and/or in community clinics.