Thai researchers developed percentile-based plantar thermography indices for vascular-ischemic and metabolic-inflammatory patterns. PCA and logistic regression produced moderate discrimination (AUC 0.714), with 74.2% sensitivity and 65.0% specificity.
Key findings
- PCA yielded metabolic-inflammatory and vascular-ischemic components. Combined discrimination was moderate rather than high, implying meaningful false-positive and false-negative rates.
Why this matters globally
With external validation, the method could triage people for further assessment in resource-limited communities without radiation or contact.
Thai researcher contribution
Teams from Chiang Mai, North-Chiang Mai and Nation universities linked imaging engineering with community health data.
Limitations to consider
The abstract does not state sample size or fully define the reference standard. External validation, environmental control, comorbidity adjustment and between-camera reproducibility remain unclear.