VQB Wins $1 Million to Commercialize System for Early Detection of DPN

DPN is the most common co-morbidity of diabetes: it affects up to half of all people living with diabetes and contributes directly to lower-limb amputations in over 100,000 Americans every year. Both diabetes and DPN disproportionately affect people of color, including those in Black, Latino, and Native American communities. The economic cost of DPN in the US exceeds $10 billion annually, and those with the disease experience direct medical costs 5 times higher than those with diabetes alone. Personal costs include decreased quality of life, frequent travel for medical care, and lower life expectancy—only 5 years for someone who has experienced a lower-limb amputation.

Because this disease can be asymptomatic, the identification of early stage DPN can lead to timely interventions and better long-term health outcomes for the many people affected. However, current diagnostic tools are invasive, expensive, or time-consuming, or they produce highly subjective results. VisionQuest’s device, i-RxTherm, detects the signs of DPN quickly, accurately, and non-invasively, thus providing a new and better tool for the early detection and diagnosis of this debilitating complication of diabetes.

DPN first affects nerve function in the hands and feet, and it also affects the blood flow controlled by these nerves, which respond to external changes in temperature. i-RxTherm records infrared (thermal) video of the blood flow to the bottom of a subject’s foot after their foot has been cooled with a gel pad. The software then charts temperature differences initially, after cooling, and during recovery. These graphs of rising temperature (i.e., increasing blood flow after removal of the cold pad) look different for subjects with and without DPN and show the physician which patients may require additional testing and treatment.