Effectiveness of Infrared Thermography Combined With Ankle-Brachial Index in the Assessment of Patients With Below-the-Knee Periphery Artery Diseases

Our findings showed the use of IRT increased the diagnostic efficacy of ABI in BTK PAD patients. This noninvasive technique has the potential to be applied in PAD diagnosis, preoperative, and postoperative evaluation.Clinical ImpactAn ankle-brachial index (ABI) is the most commonly used diagnostic method for evaluating vascular disorders in the lower limb. The high prevalence of medial sclerosis, which can render arteries incompressible upon cuff inflation, may lead to falsely elevated ABI values (ABI>1.4) in patients with diabetes mellitus. Infrared thermography (IRT) is a novel potential diagnostic method that does not require physical contact. The use of IRT may increase the diagnostic efficacy of ABI in BTK PAD patients. This non-invasive technique has the potential to be applied in PAD diagnosis, preoperative, and postoperative evaluation.