Being the largest and most accessible organ of the human body,the skin could offer a window to diabetes-related complications on the microvasculature.However,skin microvasculature is typically assessed by histological...Being the largest and most accessible organ of the human body,the skin could offer a window to diabetes-related complications on the microvasculature.However,skin microvasculature is typically assessed by histological analysis,which is not suited for applications to large populations or longitudinal studies.We introduce ultra-wideband rasterscan optoacoustic mesoscopy(RSOM)for precise,non-invasive assessment of diabetes-related changes in the dermal microvasculature and skin micro-anatomy,resolved with unprecedented sensitivity and detail without the need for contrast agents.Providing unique imaging contrast,we explored a possible role for RSOM as an investigational tool in diabetes healthcare and offer the first comprehensive study investigating the relationship between different diabetes complications and microvascular features in vivo.We applied RSOM to scan the pretibial area of 95 participants with diabetes mellitus and 48 age-matched volunteers without diabetes,grouped according to disease complications,and extracted six label-free optoacoustic biomarkers of human skin,including dermal microvasculature density and epidermal parameters,based on a novel image-processing pipeline.We then correlated these biomarkers to disease severity and found statistically significant effects on microvasculature parameters as a function of diabetes complications.We discuss how label-free RSOM biomarkers can lead to a quantitative assessment of the systemic effects of diabetes and its complications,complementing the qualitative assessment allowed by current clinical metrics,possibly leading to a precise scoring system that captures the gradual evolution of the disease.展开更多
基金This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 687866(INNODERM)and No 871763(WINTHER)from the European Research Council(ERC)under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 694968(PREMSOT)+1 种基金from Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen through Physician Scientists for Groundbreaking Projects,in part by the Helmholtz Association of German Research Center,through the Initiative and Networking Fund,i3(ExNet-0022-Phase2-3)from the DZHK(German Centre for Cardiovascular Research,FKZ 81Z0600104).We thank Dr.Robert J.Wilson and Dr Serene Lee for their attentive reading and improvements of the manuscript.We express our gratitude to the staff at the Diabetes Center in Marienplatz,Munich,Germany as well as the Department for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery,Klinikum rechts der Isar,Technical University of Munich(TUM),Germany,for their valuable assistance in conducting the study presented here.
文摘Being the largest and most accessible organ of the human body,the skin could offer a window to diabetes-related complications on the microvasculature.However,skin microvasculature is typically assessed by histological analysis,which is not suited for applications to large populations or longitudinal studies.We introduce ultra-wideband rasterscan optoacoustic mesoscopy(RSOM)for precise,non-invasive assessment of diabetes-related changes in the dermal microvasculature and skin micro-anatomy,resolved with unprecedented sensitivity and detail without the need for contrast agents.Providing unique imaging contrast,we explored a possible role for RSOM as an investigational tool in diabetes healthcare and offer the first comprehensive study investigating the relationship between different diabetes complications and microvascular features in vivo.We applied RSOM to scan the pretibial area of 95 participants with diabetes mellitus and 48 age-matched volunteers without diabetes,grouped according to disease complications,and extracted six label-free optoacoustic biomarkers of human skin,including dermal microvasculature density and epidermal parameters,based on a novel image-processing pipeline.We then correlated these biomarkers to disease severity and found statistically significant effects on microvasculature parameters as a function of diabetes complications.We discuss how label-free RSOM biomarkers can lead to a quantitative assessment of the systemic effects of diabetes and its complications,complementing the qualitative assessment allowed by current clinical metrics,possibly leading to a precise scoring system that captures the gradual evolution of the disease.