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World J Diabetes. Dec 15, 2022; 13(12): 1131-1139
Published online Dec 15, 2022. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v13.i12.1131
The role of artificial intelligence technology in the care of diabetic foot ulcers: the past, the present, and the future
Joseph M Pappachan, Bill Cassidy, Cornelius James Fernandez, Vishnu Chandrabalan, Moi Hoon Yap
Joseph M Pappachan, Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Preston PR2 9HT, United Kingdom
Joseph M Pappachan, Bill Cassidy, Moi Hoon Yap, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6BH, United Kingdom
Cornelius James Fernandez, Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Pilgrim Hospital, Boston PE21 9QS, United Kingdom
Vishnu Chandrabalan, Department of Data Science, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Preston PR2 9HT, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Pappachan JP substantially contributed to the conception and design of the article, interpretation of relevant literature, article drafting, and figure preparation; Cassidy B contributed to the interpretation of relevant literature, article drafting, and figure preparation; Fernandez CJ and Chandrabalan V contributed to the literature search and revision of the article; Yap MH supervised article preparation and revised the manuscript critically for important intellectual content; All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors report no relevant conflict of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Joseph M Pappachan, FRCP, MD, Consultant, Professor, Senior Editor, Senior Researcher, Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Sharoe Green Lane, Preston PR2 9HT, United Kingdom. drpappachan@yahoo.co.in
Received: August 25, 2022
Peer-review started: August 25, 2022
First decision: October 30, 2022
Revised: November 1, 2022
Accepted: December 1, 2022
Article in press: December 1, 2022
Published online: December 15, 2022
Processing time: 111 Days and 18.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Diabetic foot clinics faced major challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic due to lockdowns and social distancing measures as a significant proportion of patients were unable to physically attend the clinics. This situation boosted the attempts for transition of face-to-face foot clinics to virtual clinics as in many other types of medical care during the pandemic. Monitoring of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) by digital photographic technology and mobile phone-based photography have revolutionized this area of clinical care in recent years and mobile apps are expected to accelerate this progress. This article reviews the past, the present and the future of artificial intelligence technology in the care of DFUs.