Smart Sox are the future in diabetic foot care. People who suffer from diabetes can lose the feeling in their feet. Then, when they get a wound on their feet they may not even notice it. Because diabetics take an extremely long time to heal…especially in extremities they can develop diabetic ulcers which can eventually lead to amputation and even death.
With the new Smart Sox, there may be a way to curb all of that. Right now there are experts at the University of Arizona who are working on these Smart Sox. They are made with intelligent textiles. This means that they are using fiber optics instead of thread.
The fiber optics are designed to pick up on information like overall temperature of the foot and if there are any hot spots. Those would be spots where the temperature may be higher but since the diabetic person can’t feel it to catch it soon enough, the Smart Sox will send a reading to the doctor’s computer and the doctor can notify the patient to come in for a checkup. By catching these sites early enough and using preventive measures these sores, ulcers and amputations can be forestalled.
While the Smart Sox are still in the testing phases now they are expected to be in podiatry practices within 2 years and available to consumers within 5.
This will be a great thing to diabetics around the world. The CDC estimates that throughout the world, there is a diabetic related amputation occurring every 20 seconds. How many of those could be prevented with the use of a tool like these Smart Sox?
The project is being funded by the Qatar National Research Fund which has given over $2 million in grants for research and development.
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