High-tech mat detects foot ulcers before they develop
AHIGH-TECH bath mat takes just 20 seconds to spot dangerous foot ulcers weeks before they start to show. The device has temperature sensors that detect ‘hot spots’ on the soles of feet, which indicate an ulcer may develop in a few days or weeks.
These invisible hot spots are caused by inflammation under the skin that develops when blood circulation is reduced and skin is deprived of the vital oxygen it needs — increasing the risk of ulcers that do not heal.
Patients stand on the mat at home for 20 seconds a day. If the mat detects no change in skin temperature then a green light flashes. The temperature data is then automatically transmitted through a wireless connection to a patient’s doctor.
If the mat senses a significant increase, even in one tiny spot, it flashes red and within minutes their doctor can be alerted to call and give the patient advice.
THISmay include staying off their feet for several hours to stop the inflammation progressing, as keeping pressure on the affected part of the foot is likely to exacerbate inflammation; using special gel insoles that ease the pressure and boost blood flow; or seeing their GP for an urgent check-up.
The device may help millions of diabetics at risk of foot amputation as circulation to the lower limbs is damaged by their illness. It may also benefit the two million people with peripheral arterial disease, where arteries in the lower legs become narrowed due to fatty deposits. This increases the risk of amputations as the feet are starved of oxygen-rich blood.
At least one in ten diabetes patients develops poor circulation to the legs and feet as high levels of sugar in the blood thicken the walls of capillaries (tiny blood vessels), which makes their blood flow less efficient.
The slightest cut can then develop into an open wound because, as blood circulation slows, the damaged skin is starved of the oxygen-rich blood and immune cells it needs to mend.
These wounds often get bigger because bacteria present there feed off the raised levels of sugar. They then flourish and break down surrounding healthy tissue. The risks are heightened by the fact diabetes patients often have nerve damage in the feet, so they feel little pain and may be unaware they have tiny injuries until they are infected and harder to heal.
Up to 40 per cent of diabetic ulcers take at least three months to mend, and in around 14 per cent of cases wounds are still present after a year.
UNIVERSITYof Arizona researchers published a recent study in the journal Diabetes Care, following 129 patients for 34 weeks. They found the mat, developed by U.S. company Podimetrics, detected 97 per cent of developing foot ulcers at least five weeks before symptoms emerged.
The mat could be widely available in the next two to three years if further tests show a similar accuracy.
A spokeswoman for the charity Diabetes UK said new technology is desperately needed: ‘It could be life- changing for the thousands at risk of diabetes-related amputations every year. We will be watching the progress of this device with great interest.’
MEANWHILE new research suggests taking statins could slash the risk of diabetic foot ulcers by up to 60 per cent.
Scientists at Semnan University in Iran found diabetics already on the drugs were much less likely to develop hard-to-heal ulcers than those not taking them, according to a report in the journal Wounds. They believe that statins’ antiinflammatory properties may be the key factor.