Analysis of the Blood Flow in the Finger Tip for the Diagnosis of Peripheral Vascular Diseases

Early detection and restraint of peripheral circulatory disturbances is important to improve prognosis of patients with diseases such as diabetes mellitus. We propose two indices, ‘peak fluctuation value' and ‘change ratio of blood flow pulse wave velocity' to evaluate peripheral circulatory conditions. Several indices such as ‘pulse wave velocity' and ‘ankle brachial index' have been proposed clinically. However, these indices reflect rather organic changes in the vascular condition. In contrast, our two indices reflect the response of the periodicity and fluctuation of the blood flow in the finger tips when the hand is immersed in cold water and evaluate both organic and functional abnormalities of the peripheral vascular system. Using these indices, it was possible to successfully classify a ‘high-risk group' consisting of patients once diagnosed as having diabetes mellitus from a healthy low-risk group; thus we believe in the feasibility of these indices for the evaluation of peripheral circulatory disturbances.