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Foot ulcers are the most common cause of hospitalization for people with diabetes, and both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes can cause swelling in the feet. Siren Care’s socks for diabetics use smart textile technology to monitor the temperature of the skin on the feet. By comparing data for the same spot on both feet, the socks greatly reduce the chance of false alarms. If a high temperature is detected, the socks use Bluetooth Low Energy to send an alert to the smartphone app.

The machine washable socks are designed to be worn for six months. The built-in battery will last at least that long and only runs when the socks are being worn. When the socks are off, the battery goes into sleep mode. Currently being prepared for production, the team behind the design plans to start shipping in early Spring 2017. Each order consists of seven socks (one for each day of the week). Available in different sizes, one set of Siren socks costs US 120.

A number of projects are working to make management of long-term or chronic health conditions easier and less painful. For people living with diabetes, this chat bot makes healthy lifestyle suggestions and recommends appropriate activities and restaurants. And this wearable glucose monitor could do away with the need for diabetics to take daily blood tests. What other conditions could be made more manageable through technology updates?