A step in care for diabetic feet
Patients suffering from diabetes mellitus have no perception of pain in their feet and this can cause development of ulcers and in the worst cases, may lead to amputation. To prevent this, the only solution is continuous medical supervision. Since this is not possible, these patients have to visit the hospital on a bimonthly basis in order for their feet to be examined. However, in many cases the period between the two visits can be crucial given that the progress of the disease can be irreversible. The DIAFOOD project saw the development of a device that continuously monitors feet condition, stores the data and then transmits them to a medical centre. A non-invasive, sensory system that monitors the humidity, pressure, and temperature of the feet is embedded into the insole that can be placed into the patients' shoes. The data from the sensors is stored into a light, portable data-logger unit. Then by using a PC or a mobile phone the data is sent to a central station, placed in the medical centre in order to be evaluated by the experts. The system provides the patients with the capability to live a normal life without living with the threat of amputation. It is expected that the device will contribute to a decrease of amputations of around 20%. Moreover, the device will continuously decrease the costs that are related to amputations, prosthesis, rehabilitation and other hospitalization expenses that averages from 50 to 80 thousands euros per case.