New Delhi (India), October 24: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is one of the most frequently encountered complications of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It leads to neuropathic pain, diabetic foot ulcers and lower limb amputations, which affect the quality of life of patients and their families. Diagnosing diabetic neuropathy in the early stages will make a huge difference in the treatment of patients and eventually avert the need for amputations.
Nerve conduction studies help in the diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy, but this can detect only the involvement of large nerve fibres at an advanced stage of the disease. Monofilament testing also detects only advanced neuropathy. Therefore, diagnostic equipment and testing are urgently needed to help detect diabetic peripheral neuropathy in the early stage.
Kody Medical Electronics has introduced several diagnostic instruments towards this end. They have a range of instruments to measure vibration pulse threshold and detect sensation and hot, cold perception in the limb and for testing cardiac autonomic neuropathy.
They have a range of digital biothesiometer (Neuropathy analysers) for the measurement of vibration perception threshold (VPT) in large nerve fibres and a neuropathy Analyzer (HCP Elite) for the measurement of Hot and Cold perception threshold (HCP) in small nerve fibre, BIOTHEZI-VPT, BIOTHEZI-VPT LITE, BIOTHEZI VPT ULTRA are models that measure VPT both on hands, and the feet and HCP Elite also measures Hot, cold perception threshold in both hands and feet, which will result in much earlier diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy than with nerve conduction studies. The higher the value of VPT and HCP, the greater the risk of ulceration.
Kody’s digital biothesiometers (Neuropathy analysers) are simple and economical instruments with manual control for applying vibration and hot-cold perception. They come with a comprehensive operating method and easy-to-handle software. The reports can be exported to PDF format for ease of sharing and reporting.
Kody’s monofilaments help in assessing the risk of ulceration in a patient. The absence of sensation for buckling of monofilament (10 gm/5.07) at specific sites on the foot indicates that the foot is at risk. Each pack contains 20 monofilaments that can be used multiple times. One monofilament can be used for 3 to 4 patients for 16 sites.
KODYSCAN is a non-invasive, fully automated computer-based Cardiac Autonomic Neuropathy Analysis test system that helps assess heart rate variability and autonomic function, making it useful in diabetic patients. The instrument provides heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure analysis for a quantitative assessment of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and autonomic balance (sympathetic and parasympathetic).
With appropriate use of such equipment, diabetic peripheral neuropathy can be diagnosed at a much earlier stage of onset and treated appropriately. This will avert unnecessary amputations and vastly improve the quality of life of patients with diabetes.
