New PAD assessment website offers a supportive training tool

CLINICIANS who use handheld devices to “listen” to the blood flow in patients’ lower limbs now have an online teaching aid that will improve their diagnostic skills as they seek signs of problems that could lead to heart attacks or strokes.  

It has been created by University of Huddersfield podiatry lecturer Andrew Sharpe, who compiled a digital library of the varied sounds picked up during the Doppler ultrasound procedure.

These can be heard by visitors to his website, titled Do you hear what I hear?.  The sounds are accompanied by real life, anonymised case histories and the information that clinicians need to make a Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) assessment.

Mr Sharpe, who is an experienced practitioner himself, assembled a team of experts – a vascular nurse, vascular podiatrist and vascular sonographer.  They provided case-by-case conclusions and how they would proceed.  This is included in the website.

“The basic premise is that sound waves do not provide a standalone assessment.  You use them alongside other assessments,” said Mr Sharpe, who was awarded £10,000 for his project by the Urgo Foundation, which funds innovative medical research.

He compiled his case histories and their accompanying Doppler sound waves from patients at several NHS trusts in Lancashire.  Mr Sharpe then selected ten for the Do you hear what I hear? website.  They are predominantly diabetic and male – an accurate reflection of clinical reality.

Mr Sharpe describes his website as “a supportive training tool”, and it will aid his teaching at the University of Huddersfield, where he is now a full-time lecturer.

“The website can be used at any level – from undergraduates and newly-qualified podiatrists right up to vascular consultants, who might want to download the sounds to use as a teaching tool themselves.”

Mr Sharpe describes sound waves as a portable, non-invasive, quick and relatively cheap way of assessing PAD.  But a lack of accuracy, reliability or confidence on the part of the user can falsely reassure patients that there is no disease present, so that they miss out on potentially life-saving treatment.  Do you hear what I hear? aims to bring about major improvements and is being made freely available.