Using a Smartphone to Manage Diabetes

Worcester (Mass.) Polytechnic Institute will develop a smartphone app to aid patients with diabetes and foot ulcers to manage their disease.


Worcester (Mass.) Polytechnic Institute will develop a smartphone app to aid patients with diabetes and foot ulcers to manage their disease.

The four-year project is funded with a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation. Diabetes and wound care specialists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School will work with the institute to develop and test the app, which will integrate wirelessly with a personal glucose meter and scale. The app will track and archive blood sugar levels and weight, and use the smartphone’s camera to capture and analyze images of foot ulcers.

The app will provide information to patients on the progress of ulcers, such as whether they are healing, stable or getting worse, to help them decide if an office visit is necessary.

Under the four-year program, the first two years will be spent on developing a prototype with the second two years testing the app in a clinical trial at the medical school.

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