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Smart Mat Created To Help Diabetics Avoid Amputations

By R. Siva Kumar | Update Date: Jan 25, 2016 09:40 AM EST

For diabetics, there is good news. Students at Jackson State University have developed a smart mat to help prevent amputations.

There is a special device in the mat that can find out the temperature of both feet and then convey the results to an Android app, according to Engadget. As rising glucose might be dangerous to their lower limbs, they might lead to ulcerations and also enable the patient to lose a limb.

However, diabetics requiring amputation is high, according to the American Diabetes Association. This is mainly because when the body loses circulation, there is also the loss of sensation, as well as the acquisition of sores and infections.

The senior students were inspired after one of their relatives lost her foot a few years ago, according to the press release from Jackson State University.The team was made up of four engineering students that are studying at the University's College of Science, Engineering and Technology, Diverse Education  reported. During the six months it took to create the mat, the students worked hard on researching before they began developing.

"We looked at some other studies, and we saw that they used some type of thermometer, but the patient had to take the temperature on their own and write the data down and communicate it back to their doctor and we wanted to streamline that," team member Jordan Barber said.

The team agreed that the product calls for more application, but it might be sold for about $500, as that was the cost of the mat.

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