An experimental foot-temperature monitoring system might one day be able to detect when diabetic patients are developing foot ulcers.

Dr. David Armstrong is Director of the Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Armstrong wasn’t involved in the study but said he is attracted to the technology involved, where researchers tested a so-called smart mat that measures variations in temperature on the foot to predict where ulcers may occur.

He said the technology holds a lot of potential to aid patients who currently have a high risk of infection and amputation because their developing ulcers go undetected.

Diabetic foot ulcers typically develop on the bottom of the big toe or the ball of the foot, often when people wear ill-fitting shoes.

Patients with diabetes frequently have nerve damage that limits their ability to feel pain, and as a result they don’t notice developing ulcers.