Foot ulcers are among the most feared complications of diabetes. Because diabetes can damage nerves, many people cannot feel small cuts or pressure injuries on their feet.
Reduced blood circulation also slows healing, allowing small wounds to grow into serious ulcers that sometimes require amputation.
Health experts estimate that up to one-third of people with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer during their lifetime. Preventing these wounds from becoming severe is one of the biggest challenges in diabetes care, especially in places where patients have limited access to specialist doctors.
Researchers from the University of Melbourne, RMIT University, and Bolton Clarke have developed a new tool called THERMUL that may help doctors identify high-risk ulcers much earlier. The system uses a smartphone, a small thermal camera, and artificial intelligence to study heat patterns around wounds.
The idea is simple but powerful. Healthy healing creates one pattern of temperature, while wounds that are struggling to heal may produce a different pattern. The AI program was trained to recognize these subtle differences, many of which are impossible for the human eye to detect.
The team tested THERMUL in a clinical study involving 110 people receiving treatment at Austin Health and St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. Thermal images were collected when patients first attended the clinic and again after two and four weeks.
Doctors later examined the ulcers after 12 weeks to determine which wounds had healed. The AI compared the earlier thermal images with these results and learned to predict whether healing was likely to be successful.
Professor Elif Ekinci explained that identifying delayed healing at an earlier stage could allow doctors to change treatment sooner instead of waiting several weeks. Earlier action could reduce infections, shorten recovery time, and lower the risk of amputation.
The researchers also believe the technology could improve access to specialist care for people living outside major cities. Because the equipment is portable and does not touch the wound, it could be used by community nurses or home-care providers, with AI offering rapid decision support.
Professor Dinesh Kumar said diabetes-related foot disease places a heavy financial burden on Australia’s health system every year. A tool that helps prevent severe ulcers could save money while also improving patient outcomes and reducing avoidable hospital admissions.
THERMUL is still being refined before it can be introduced into routine medical practice. Nevertheless, the project highlights how AI can support, rather than replace, health professionals by giving them better information earlier in the treatment process.
The study is encouraging because it focuses on preventing complications instead of reacting after damage has already occurred, but larger trials will be needed before the technology can be widely adopted. If future validation is successful, THERMUL could become an important advance in diabetes care. The findings were announced by the University of Melbourne.
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Source: University of Melbourne.
