SAIMSARA Journal

Machine Generated Science • ISSN 3054-3991

Diagnostics and Peripheral Artery Disease: Scoping Review with ☸️SAIMSARA.

Vascular Health icon

Vascular Health

Issue 1, Volume 1, 2026

Editorial note
• Last update: 2026-03-26 20:25:16
What is this paper about
This review shows that PAD diagnostics are shifting beyond resting ABI toward a multimodal future: post-exercise testing, advanced imaging, biomarkers, and AI repeatedly signal earlier and more precise detection, especially in patients where standard methods fail, such as those with diabetes. Read the full paper to see which emerging tools look truly promising, where the evidence is strongest, and which “innovations” still lack the validation needed for routine practice.

DOI: 10.62487/saimsara8b81cdc8

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to systematically review and synthesize the current landscape of diagnostic approaches for peripheral artery disease, identifying emerging technologies and biomarkers that offer enhanced accuracy, sensitivity, and clinical utility. The review utilises 113 original studies with 548377 total participants (topic deduplicated ΣN). This scoping review indicates a broad and rapidly expanding diagnostic landscape for PAD in which newer physiologic testing (notably post-exercise strategies), advanced imaging, circulating/urinary biomarker panels, and AI-enabled analytics recurrently signal improved detection and phenotyping compared with conventional approaches. Across the evidence map, a consistent theme is moving beyond single resting indices toward multi-parameter assessment of perfusion, ischemia, and vascular pathology, with several modalities positioned as non-invasive or point-of-care candidates for earlier identification in higher-risk groups such as people with diabetes. At the same time, interpretation is constrained by substantial heterogeneity in index tests, thresholds, and reference standards and by the absence of formal risk-of-bias appraisal in this scoping design. Clinically, the mapped evidence supports considering stepwise, multimodal diagnostic pathways that combine physiologic testing with targeted imaging and adjunct biomarkers where ABI is limited, while research priorities include standardized thresholds and prospective multicenter validation—particularly for AI models and emerging biomarkers—before routine adoption.

Keywords: Peripheral artery disease diagnosis; Ankle-brachial index; Biomarkers for PAD; Medical imaging diagnostics; Artificial intelligence in diagnosis; Vascular calcification assessment; Ischemia classification; Transcutaneous oxygen pressure; Microvascular disease; Foot-toe glucose index

Review Stats

Get access to the full paper

temporary link or permanent access.

The remaining part of the paper opens after purchase or unlock.

Reference Index (75)