Four students at Jackson State University invented a temperature-monitoring floor mat that allows users to manage their risk for lower extremity ulceration and amputation due to diabetes. It is a revolutionary idea that may significantly lower the prevalence of diabetes-related amputation. (image via Pixabay)
Diabetes is a serious disease that is claiming thousands of new victims every day. In countries with unreliable access to advanced medicine, including India and China, it has been declared an epidemic. In the U.S., prevalence of the disease is steadily increasing by 1.7 million each year. Although becoming commonplace, it has serious consequences when left untreated, including blindness, stroke, kidney disease, coma, limb amputation, and death.
(Images via Jackson State University)
Engineering seniors at Jackson State University decided to do something, states the report, about the emerging epidemic, and created a pressurized, temperature-monitoring floor mat to help diabetes manage their risk of ulceration and amputation of the lower extremities. After his aunt lost a limb to diabetic ulceration, Jann Butler was moved by seeing first-hand the kind of tragedy this causes in a family. He and his friends created the smart mat to help prevent this outcome for others.
The floor mat, with its official name still in transition, features a pressurized surface that takes the temperature of a user’s feet when stepped on. It relies on the waterproof lily pad sensor for temperature functionality, allowing users to get accurate readings, even if their feet are wet. This makes it an ideal companion to a bath mat, so users remember to stand on it daily.
The mat is paired with an Android app that stores user data and may eventually send updates to the user’s physician, notifying him or her if things are wrong. According to the developers, as circulation gets progressively worse in diabetics, the extremities are the first to suffer, and will get noticeably colder over time. In fact, each foot can have its own temperature range, an indication that a patient may develop an ulcer that eventually warrants amputation.
According to the team of students, treatment for ulceration is more responsive than preventative because patients do not seek help in a timely manner. A product like the smart mat would offer a unique solution by both logging a patient’s condition over time, and notifying a doctor if there is a significant difference in temperature between feet; roughly four degrees Fahrenheit of difference is a key point at which a patient demonstrates increased risk.
The device is still under development, although the development team has sealed lips regarding most of the modifications to be made. They did state they are working on releasing their app for every mobile platform, and hope to optimize the product for mass production. It currently costs roughly $500 to build – a high cost for most diabetics, who are statistically low-to-lower-middle income. It is possible that insurance companies could cover the cost for severely at-risk patients, but it is a safer bet for the engineers to find a more cost effective method for production.
Four Jackson State University students comprised the development team, including Butler, and peers Chevan Baker, Jordan Barber, and Fred Harris – all seniors in Engineering. The initiative was part of their senior research project, for which Dr. Gordon Skelton acted as a mentor. Skelton is a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and directs the university’s graduate computation data-enabled sciences program.
Skelton said the mat provides real value to those who suffer from diabetes. According to the Mississippi Department of Health, Mississippi exhibits the second highest rate of diabetes in the country, with numbers climbing every year. The mat could provide a real solution to an increasing problem in America, and the world at large.
According to the CDC, 21.3 million American citizens had been diagnosed with diabetes, with roughly 1.7 million new cases each year. With this, the CDC predicts more a third of the U.S. population may already be pre-diabetic, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. An additional 29 million citizens are estimated to have undiagnosed, or underdiagnosed diabetes. Type II diabetes, which can often be managed by healthy lifestyle changes, continues to impact citizens of all ages and ethnicities, including children. Over 5,000 cases of Type II diabetes diagnosed between 2008 and 2009 onset in children and teenagers, with numbers also increasing within this demographic. Diabetes has been labeled an emerging epidemic in the country, and the CDC named it the seventh highest cause of death in 2013.
Skelton said he challenges all of his students to find solutions to real-world problems, because they are exactly the kind of problems they’ll have to solve when they enter the workforce. Whether or not the smart mat makes it to market, the students have contributed significantly to the fight against the disease.
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