Proposal of a Methodology based on Expert Systems for the Treatment of Diabetic Foot Condition
Manuel Casal-Guisande, Jorge Cerqueiro-Pequeño, Alberto Comesaña-Campos, José-Benito Bouza-Rodríguez
Abstract
Diabetes is a chronical illness, commonly considered as the disease of the 21st Century. Diabetic foot is one of the several conditions associated to this disease, which in the most severe cases might be the cause of amputations on the lower limbs. Such condition involves a high social impact for patients and families, and puts an important burden on the health and care systems. It is essential to aim at an early detection of the pathology and at its continuous monitoring in order to perform a convenient follow-up of those patients’ condition, from both the preventive and the therapeutic viewpoints. Following this line, different decision support methodologies are nowadays under development within the remote medicine framework, that in this specific case might help to improve the process for monitoring and treating patients that are likely to develop wounds associated with diabetic foot condition.