Healthy.io partners with Johns Hopkins to monitor chronic diabetic wounds

Healthy.io turns a smartphone camera into a medical device to capture images and monitor wounds

There are over 37 million people in the U.S. who have been diagnosed with diabetes, while another 96 million have prediabetes, meaning very close to 50% of the entire US population has one of these two conditions. 

One of the most common results of having this disease is foot amputation, with 25% of hospital admissions among diabetics being for foot lesions, and 40% of those who have diabetic foot require amputations. 

Healthy.io, a company turns a smartphone camera into a medical device to deliver at-home urinalysis and digitized wound care services, announced the launch of a new program to improve wound care management for patients suffering from chronic diabetic wounds on Thurdsay, as well as a partnership with Johns Hopkins to expand access to Healthy.io's Minuteful for Wound solution to patients in the Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy department at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

The Minuteful for Wound solution allows patients to capture a 3D scan of their wound using a smartphone or tablet and two calibration stickers. Care teams can then document wounds upon admission, with automatic measurements and tissue distribution. Wounds are also monitored and documentation can be reviewed from a centralized portal, while wound status can be tracked throughout the patient's stay.

The first phase of the pilot program, which was documented in a manuscript recently published in Frontiers in Endocrinology, showed that having access to real-time at-home remote-monitoring through the Minuteful for Wound app led to 36% of patients making clinical changes to their wound management, including changing their wound care procedure or scheduling an earlier clinic appointment.

On top of that, 94% of patients reported the system was easy to use and beneficial, with less frequent in-person appointments, along with better continuity of care. 

Those results have led to a follow-up larger study in multiple locations in the USA and Canada, which will measure the wound healing efficacy for remote wound app monitoring versus the standard in-person clinic visits for the treatment of lower extremity wounds.

"We are thrilled to be collaborating with Johns Hopkins to utilize this innovative technology, which empowers patients and their caregivers to take an active role in their wound care management," Geoff Martin, CEO of Healthy.io, said in a statement. 

"This new patient-centered technology offers a convenient, precise, and reliable solution for early detection and intervention, ultimately improving the patient outcomes and saving significant costs."

(Image source: healthy.io)