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A side effect of diabetes can be numbness in the feet, causing people with the disease to be at risk for serious foot conditions including ulcers that can get infected and even result in amputation. It’s important for diabetics to monitor their feet daily.
Typical tracking methods include therapeutic footwear, education and regular foot exams. Now the company Siren has developed Siren Socks, an alternative that continuously monitors the temperature of the bottom of the feet.
Temperature has been clinically proven to be a more effective monitoring technology, preventing up to 87.5 percent of foot ulcers when compared to standard therapies.
Siren, founded in San Francisco to design wearable technology to prevent lower limb amputations and other health conditions, developed Neurofabric™, a textile with microsensors woven into the fabric. The sensors continuously monitor the temperature of the feet in six locations. A spike in temperature can mean the start of inflammation, a precursor to a foot ulcer.
The sensors send signals to a small tab in the sock, which in turn wirelessly transmits data to a Siren app that can be downloaded to a smartphone. If there are signs of inflammation, the individual gets an alert to seek medical attention before an ulcer forms.
The socks also come with a Siren Hub for people without a smartphone. The device can read the sensor data and transmit information to Siren staff who then send alerts to the individual by email or phone. For more information, visit www.siren-care.com.