This book was conducted in three experimental investigations and the
first investigation aimed to firstly determine the repeatability of
ultrasound parameters which include peak systolic velocity, pulsatility index,
resistive index and vessel diameter inner to inner in measuring blood flow in 10
asymptomatic diabetic patients with early-stage PAD to establish their
robustness before their utilisation in a larger sample size of participants in the
second investigation. In the second investigation, the aim was to determine
if the robust ultrasound parameters from the first investigation would able
to detect the effects of early-stage PAD in the lower limb blood flow of
35 asymptomatic diabetic patients compared to 36 non-diabetic controls.
In the third investigation, the aim was to determine if the robust ultrasound
parameters from the second investigation alongside systolic blood pressure
(SBP) and diastolic blood (DBP) would be able to show the acute effects of
ingested beetroot juice by the same sample of participants from the second
investigation.
In this chapter, the first outline is an overview of the main pathological
process being researched in this book which is Type 2 diabetes and its
complication of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the lower limb arteries,
followed by the overview of the current methods of imaging PAD and
therapy then finally the rationale which prompted the undertaking of this
book.