Development of a non-invasive screening device of diabetic peripheral neuropathy based on the perception of micro-vibration

An estimated number of 420 million people in the world had diabetes mellitus in 2014, which had become quadruple since 1980, and the number is estimated to be 700 million by 2025. Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases, which causes high blood sugar to a person, due to the functional problems of the pancreas or the metabolism. Patients of untreated diabetes would be damaged by the high blood sugar in vessels, and this starts to destroy capillary vessels to lower the sensitivity of tactile sensations, then effects to various organs and nerve systems. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is one of the complications of diabetes mellitus, and the authors pay attention to the decline of the sensitivity of tactile sensations in the early stage of diabetes. By using a novel micro-vibration actuator that employs a shape-memory alloy wire, we develop a non-invasive screening device of the level of diabetes based on the perception of micro-vibration patterns. Experiments are conducted in a medical clinic, and the relation between the tactile stimuli and the medical diagnosis of diabetes are examined.