Deep Learning-Based Classification and Feature Extraction for Predicting Pathogenesis of Foot Ulcers in Patients with Diabetes
Authors: Sathya Preiya V. , Kumar V. D. Ambeth 
Published: June 2023

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified that diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most prevalent disease worldwide. Individuals with DM have a higher risk of mortality, and it is crucial to prioritize the treatment of foot ulcers, which is a significant complication associated with the disease, as they lead to the development of plantar ulcers, which results in the need to amputate part of the foot or leg. People with diabetes are at risk of experiencing various complications, such as heart disease, eye problems, kidney dysfunction, nerve damage, skin issues, foot ulcers, and dental diseases. Unawareness of the risk associated with diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) is a significant contributing factor to the mortality of diabetic patients. Evolving technological advancements such as deep learning techniques can be used to predict the symptoms of diabetic foot ulcers as early as possible, which helps to provide effective treatment to DM patients. This research introduces a methodology for analyzing images of foot ulcers in diabetic patients, focusing on feature extraction and classification. The dataset used in this study was collected from historical medical records and foot images of patients with diabetes, who commonly experience foot ulcers as a major complication. The dataset was pre-processed and segmented, and features were extracted using a deep recurrent neural network (DRNN). Image and numerical/text data were extracted separately, and the normal and abnormal diabetes ranges were identified. Foot images of patients with abnormal diabetes ranges were separated and classified using a pre-trained fast convolutional neural network (PFCNN) with U++net. The classification procedure involves the analysis of foot ulcers to predict their pathogenesis. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed technique, the study presented simulation results, including a confusion matrix and receiver operating characteristic curve. These results specifically focused on predicting two classes: normal and abnormal diabetes foot ulcerations. The analysis yielded various parameters, including accuracy, precision, recall curve, and area under the curve. The main goal of the study was to introduce an novel technique for assessing the risk of foot ulceration development in patients with diabetes, leveraging the analysis of foot ulcer images. The researchers collected a dataset of foot images and medical data from historical records of patients with diabetes and pre-processed and segmented the data. They then used a deep recurrent neural network to extract features from the segmented data and identified normal and abnormal diabetes ranges based on numerical and text data. Foot images of patients with abnormal diabetes ranges were classified using a pre-trained fast convolutional neural network with U++net to examine foot ulcers and forecast the development of the risk of diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). The study assessed the accuracy of the proposed technique as 99.32% by simulating results for feature extraction and the classification of diabetic foot ulcers. A comparison was made between this proposed technique and existing approaches.