Ultrasound tool could reduce rate of premature deaths due to diabetes-related foot ulcers in Peru

Around 220,000 people at risk of developing diabetes-related foot ulcers.

Researchers from Staffordshire University have teamed up with partners in Peru to work towards reducing the risk of amputations related to diabetic foot ulcers.

An estimated 1 million adults in Peru have diabetes, with 220,000 at risk of developing diabetes-related foot ulcers. Diabetes is reported to be the third cause of premature death in the South American country.

Biomechanics experts from Staffordshire University are working with partners in Peru to develop a diagnostics tool to detect life-threatening foot ulcers in people with diabetes.

Thanks to funding from the Newton Fund-Institutional links programme, Professor Roozbeh Naemi, from the University’s Centre for Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Technologies is to lead an international collaborative project with Pontificia Universidad Católica del in Peru.

Professor Naemi said: “The aim of this project, is to develop an ultrasound-based diagnostic tool to identify diabetic foot ulceration risk among the Peruvian population.

“This one-year project, has a focus on improving the diagnostic outcome of diabetic foot disease by developing an ultrasound-based diagnostic tool to assess the patients’ feet. By improving the prognosis of diabetes-related foot complications, the project outcomes can have huge implications in reducing the socioeconomic burden of diabetic foot diseases in Peru.”

The Newton Fund-Institutional links programme is designed to establish opportunities for sustainable, solution-oriented research and innovation collaborations between academic groups from the UK and other countries like Peru to tackle global challenges such as access to affordable healthcare.

It is estimated that 26 million people worldwide develop diabetic foot ulcers each year. The lifetime incidence of foot ulcers in developing countries is more than 20% among people with diabetes. The risk of death at 5 years for a patient with a diabetic foot ulcer is 2.5 times higher than the risk for a patient with diabetes with no foot ulcer.

Read the DRWF leaflet How can diabetes affect my feet? here

Read more about the role of technology in managing diabetes-related foot ulcers in the April issue of DRWF’s monthly newsletter Diabetes Wellness News. Subscribe here