NEURO TOUCH: A novel digital device for assessment and screening of peripheral neuropathy

Written By : Dr Supreeth D R |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2022-04-21T09:00:01+05:30 | Updated On 21 April 2022 9:00 AM IST

Most of the patients suffering from diabetes develop Sensory neuropathy which proceeds with development of painful neuropathy. This can lead to formation of ulcers in later stages. Currently, available Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) devices take more time to perform and are expensive.

NEURO TOUCH is such device which combines four parameters of QST in one unit. Its portable, battery operated and handy device with real time display of results along with data storage and data transfer facility. It has a monofilament, hot and cold probe with temperature sensors and a vibration perception threshold (VPT) measuring tip which can be operated using 4 buttons provided on the instrument. It can perform tactile sensation threshold, vibration and thermal testing threshold along with skin temperature measurement using Infra Red radiation (IR).

A study was undertaken by D. Riddhi et al. et al to establish the diagnostic validity, reproducibility and repeatability for early detection of peripheral neuropathy.

A total of 317 subjects were recruited for QST assessment with NEURO TOUCH; tactile threshold sensation, vibration perception and thermal threshold testing along with skin temperature. A subset of 30 subjects in each group was considered for repeatability and reproducibility test.

• The mean difference for vibration perception threshold was 0.6 when compared with gold standard device.

• Regarding the cold and warm perception threshold the mean difference was 1.1 and 2 ◦C respectively when compared with gold standard device.

• For skin temperature measures there was a mean difference of 1.2 ◦C with respect to standard device.

The authors concluded that - NEURO TOUCH device was easy-to-use, compact and provided an efficient multimodality approach which can help for screening of peripheral neuropathy patients with type 2 diabetes.

MBBS, Dip. Ortho, DNB ortho, MNAMS

Dr Supreeth D R (MBBS, Dip. Ortho, DNB ortho, MNAMS) is a practicing orthopedician with interest in medical research and publishing articles. He completed MBBS from mysore medical college, dip ortho from Trivandrum medical college and sec. DNB from Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru. He has expirence of 7years in the field of orthopedics. He has presented scientific papers & posters in various state, national and international conferences. His interest in writing articles lead the way to join medical dialogues. He can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751