The Podimetrics SmartMat electronically measures the temperature of a veteran’s foot to detect inflammation, a precursor to a diabetic ulcer, and communicates the data to both patient and the VA care provider.
Army veteran and Legionnaire Michael Thompson suffers from Type 2 diabetes and neuropathy. As a result, it’s difficult for him to feel and detect a diabetic foot ulcer. That’s why a few years ago when his left foot became infected, it went unnoticed and several of his toes had to be amputated. But the worry of another limb amputation from a diabetic foot ulcer is over for Thompson.
Every morning after waking up, Thompson steps on his Podimetrics SmartMatTM – an electronic mat that uses remote temperature monitoring to measure the temperature on the bottom of a veteran’s foot to help detect inflammation, a precursor to a diabetic ulcer. With diabetes affecting one in four veterans, Podimetrics partnered with the Veterans Health Administration to provide the SmartMat to high-risk veterans vulnerable to foot infections and diabetic ulcers to help end diabetic limb loss. In 2022 alone, VA treated 75,000 diabetic foot ulcers that accounted for more than 80% of non-traumatic amputations.
Thompson is one of nearly 14,000 veterans enrolled in the VA’s remote temperature monitoring program with Podimetrics SmartMat.
“I wish that I had the SmartMat prior to getting my toes amputated,” said Thompson, a member of American Legion Post 1167 in South Roxana, Ill., who was referred for the mat by his VA primary care doctor in 2023. “Because I think it would have saved me some grief because anytime there’s a change in my feet, I may not notice it, but the SmartMat picks it up.”
Veterans using the SmartMat, like Thompson, stand on it for only 20 seconds a day to measure the temperature on the bottom of their feet. “There’s nothing complicated about it,” Thompson said. “All I have to do is get out of bed and step on it.”
Then the data is sent to Podimetrics for review.
“Our team analyzes the data and looks for trends,” said Podimetrics Vice President of Marketing Lori Taylor. “If we see a certain temperature difference over a couple of scans, then our nurses get an alert, and we call the patient. We outreach to the patient and say, ‘We have seen a fluctuation here. Have you noticed anything?’ Sometimes they will say no but then they will look at the bottom of their foot or have their spouse look and there’s a sore. By catching it then, we can make sure they are wearing the right shoes, staying off their feet and taking the necessary precautions. Then we continue to monitor to it.”
The SmartMat can detect 97% of inflammation preceding diabetic foot ulcers, as early as five weeks before they appear. For example, Thompson had a small callus on his heel that he wasn’t aware of until a nurse from Podimetrics called informing him of temperature changes in his foot the mat detected.
“While the callus is not life threatening, it is a change on my foot,” Thompson said. “(The SmartMat) makes me look over my feet more carefully. If there’s no changes, I let (Podimetrics) know there’s no changes and they follow up with me to make sure that it hasn’t gotten any worse. If we do find something, I let my doctor know right away, so I don’t have to have any more toes taken off.”
Podimetrics also notifies the healthcare provider if there are any clinically significant changes.
“If something does progress, we get the provider involved,” Taylor said. “Our team alerts the provider at the VA along with their care team and say, ‘This patient has an issue, here is the information reported, can you please review and determine next steps needed for care.’ We are an extension of the provider care team in between visits.
“Doctors like it because we are their eyes and ears in between visits. And the patients like it because they know someone else is watching out.”
The ability to monitor the feet remotely and communicate with both the patient and their VA care medical provider helps keep the patient out of the hospital, which is a benefit for rural veterans. VA reported data has shown a 71% reduction in diabetic limb amputations from veteran use of the SmartMat, but also a 52% reduction in hospitalizations, 40% reduction in emergency visits and 26% reduction in outpatient visits.
“If you’re a rural veteran and don’t have the means to travel to a VA medical center, it’s really telemedicine,” said Podimetrics Vice President of Government Affairs Matthew Stiner, a Marine Corps combat veteran of the Iraq War.
Veterans eligible for a Podimetrics SmartMat must be in the VA’s PAVE 3 (Prevention of Amputation in Veterans Everywhere) category of risk, with a specific past medical history of ulceration, amputation of Charcot's foot and will need to receive a prescription from their VA medical provider. There is no cost to the patient for the mat, which is shipped directly to a veteran’s house with virtual onboarding on how to use it.
“If veterans can get (a SmartMat), it may save someone’s life,” Thompson said.
For more information about the Podimetrics SmartMat, visit podimetrics.com/. And read testimony from Dr. Jon Bloom, co-founder and CEO of Podimetrics, before the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs about the SmartMat and its mission to improve veteran health.
- Veterans Healthcare