Pim Van Den Hoven

Pim Van Den Hoven says: “Patients with diabetes are at risk of developing a wound on their foot called a diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). Up to one in every three patients with diabetes will develop a DFU in their lifetime. Despite treatment, the DFU will not heal in up to thirty percent, leading to a high risk of amputation. One of the main reasons a DFU does not heal is decreased perfusion to the foot. Currently, the medical field lacks a tool to measure this foot perfusion in a reliable way. To improve outcome in DFU diagnosis and treatment, there is urgent need for a better way to assess this perfusion. The PODO-MAP project examines three potential imaging techniques to fill this gap: advanced duplex ultrasound, contrast enhanced ultrasound and near-infrared fluorescence imaging with indocyanine green. Also, a clinical registry is performed for patients with a DFU to gain insight in the clinical. By doing this, we aim to improve outcome by increasing the healing rate and reduce the amount of leg amputations.”

Pim Van Den Hoven has a longstanding interest in vascular surgery and is currently doing his specialist training at Department of Vascular Surgery, Rigshospitalet, and Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands. He further says: “The Clinical Emerging Investigator Fellowship from the Novo Nordisk Foundation will be instrumental in establishing myself as research leader within the field of near-infrared fluorescence imaging”.