Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is one of the most frequently encountered complications of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It leads to neuropathic pain, diabetic foot ulcers and lower limb amputations, which in turn affect the quality of life of patients and their families. Diagnosing diabetic neuropathy in early stages will make a huge difference in the treatment of patients and eventually avert the need for amputations.

Nerve conduction studies help in the diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy but this can detect only the involvement of large nerve fibres, at an advanced stage of the disease. Monofilament testing also detects only advanced neuropathy. There is therefore an urgent need for diagnostic equipment and testing that will help detect diabetic peripheral neuropathy in the early stage.

Kody Medical Electronics have introduced several diagnostic instruments towards this end. They have a range of instruments to measure vibration pulse threshold and detect sensation in the limb for testing for cardiac autonomic neuropathy.

They have a range of digital biothesiometers for the measurement of vibration perception threshold (VPT) in small nerve fibres, which will result in much earlier diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy than with nerve conduction studies. Higher the value of VPT, greater is the risk of ulceration.

While BIOTHEZI-VPT, BIOTHEZI-VPT LITE, and HCP-ELITE are models that measure VPT on the feet VPT ULTRA is a model that can measure VPT both on hands and the feet.

Kody’s digital biothesiometers are simple and economical instruments with manual control for applying vibration. They come with a comprehensive operating manual and an easy to handle software. The reports can be exported to PDF format for ease of sharing and reporting.

Kody’s monofilaments help in assessing the risk of ulceration in a patient. Absence of sensation for buckling of monofilament (10 gm/5.07) at specific sites on the foot indicates that the foot is at risk. Each pack contains 20 monofilaments that can be used multiple times. One monofilament can be used for 3 to 4 patients for 16 sites.

KODYSCAN is a non-invasive, fully automated computer-based Cardiac Autonomic Neuropathy Analysis test system that helps in the assessment of heat rate variability and autonomic function, making it useful in diabetic patients. The instrument provides heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure analysis for a quantitative assessment of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and autonomic balance (sympathetic and parasympathetic).

With appropriate use of such equipment, diabetic peripheral neuropathy can definitely be diagnosed at a much earlier stage of onset and treated appropriately. This will avert unnecessary amputations and vastly improve the quality of life of patients with diabetes.