Patent ID: 7167734

Claim:
A method for the determination of a disease state in a human subject, said method comprising the steps of: (a) measuring at least one optical property at a first area on a body part of said human subject to obtain a first set of data, said first area being subjected to a first temperature program; (b) measuring at least one optical property at a second area on said body part to obtain a second set of data, said second area being subjected to a second temperature program, said second temperature program being different from the first temperature program, said second area of said body part being morphologically similar to, adjacent to, but not substantially overlapping with said first area of said body part; (c) inserting said first set of data and said second set of data into a mathematical relationship to calculate a mathematical output; and (d) using said mathematical output with a decision rule to determine said disease state of said human subject, wherein said disease state is selected from the group consisting of diabetic state, dermal disease state, neoplasmic disease state, and vascular disease state.