  Circulatory system abnormalities might be an indicator of diseases or tissue
damage. Early detection of vascular abnormalities might have an important role
during treatment and also raise the patient's awarenes. Current detection
methods for vascular imaging are high-cost, invasive, and mostly
radiation-based. In this study, a low-cost and portable microcomputer-based
tool has been developed as a near-infrared (NIR) superficial vascular imaging
device. The device uses NIR light-emitting diode (LED) light at 850 nm along
with other electronic and optical components. It operates as a non-contact and
safe infrared (IR) imaging method in real-time. Image and video analysis are
carried out using OpenCV (Open-Source Computer Vision), a library of
programming functions mainly used in computer vision. Various tests were
carried out to optimize the imaging system and set up a suitable external
environment. To test the performance of the device, the images taken from three
diabetic volunteers, who are expected to have abnormalities in the vascular
structure due to the possibility of deformation caused by high glucose levels
in the blood, were compared with the images taken from two non-diabetic
volunteers. As a result, tortuosity was observed successfully in the
superficial vascular structures, where the results need to be interpreted by
the medical experts in the field to understand the underlying reasons. Although
this study is an engineering study and does not have an intention to diagnose
any diseases, the developed system here might assist healthcare personnel in
early diagnosis and treatment follow-up for vascular structures and may enable
further opportunities.
