Screening of Foot Inflammation in Diabetic Patients by Non-Invasive Imaging Modalities

Diabetic foot is defined as infection, ulceration and/or destruction of deep tissues associated with neurological abnormalities and various degrees of peripheral vascular disease in the lower limb of the patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) (the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot, 1999). Foot disorders are among the most serious and costly complications of DM (Apelqvist et al., 2008). When uncontrolled, diabetic foot can result in ulcer formation and subsequent amputation of the lower limb. Foot ulcers occur in 12 to 25 % of DM patients, and precede 84 % of all nontraumatic amputations in the growing DM population (Brem et al., 2006). It is thus quite urgently needed to prevent diabetic ulcer formation in the “at risk” foot by multi-disciplinary team approach (Apelqvist et al., 2008).