Foot ulcers are one of the most prevalent problems facing diabetic patients, but new technology developed at Kent State may soon help doctors better understand and treat them. A device called a “Shear Force Mat” represents a breakthrough for physicians seeking to understand how plantar ulcers form. It was developed and built by Kent State alumnus Misha Pevnyi, Ph.D. ’15, and Tianyi Guo, a graduate student in Kent State’s Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program in the Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute (AMLCI). The project was funded by a grant from the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine.
The team took the top prize at the Burton D. Morgan Foundation’s LaunchTown Soar competition, which focuses on high-tech college student businesses and was held at Baldwin Wallace University in April.
To learn more about the device’s design process and the science behind its functions, read more in the 2019 Kent State Research Review Magazine, visit https://www.kent.edu/research/kent-state-research-review-2019/news/step-right-direction