Pilot study: Utility of long-wave infrared thermography as a correlate to transcutaneous oximetry for candidates of hyperbaric oxygen therapy

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO₂) has been used as an adjunctive treatment for the care of advanced non-healing diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). A patient's in-chamber transcutaneous oximetry measurement (TCOM) is currently the most effective predictor for response to HBO₂ therapy but still excludes close to one in four patients who would benefit out of treatment groups when used for patient selection. Improving selection tools and criteria could potentially help better demonstrate HBO₂ therapy's efficacy for such patients. We sought to identify if long-wave infrared thermography (LWIT) measurements held any correlation with a patient's TCOM measurements and if LWIT could be used in a response prediction role for adjunctive HBO₂ therapy. To investigate, 24 patients already receiving TCOM measurements were enrolled to simultaneously be imaged with LWIT. LWIT measurements were taken throughout each patient's therapeutic course whether they underwent only standard wound care or adjunctive HBO₂ treatments. A significant correlation was found between in-chamber TCOM and post-HBO₂ LWIT. There was also a significant difference in the post-HBO₂ LWIT measurement from 1st treatment to 6 weeks or the last treatment recorded. These initial findings are important as they indicate a possible clinical use for LWIT in the selection process for patients for HBO₂ therapy. Larger studies should be carried out to further articulate the clinical use of LWIT in this capacity.