Skip to content
THE DIGITAL FOOT LAB

Helping people keep
their feet.

Every year, diabetes takes feet it never had to. We built a lab that catches the problem while it's still small — at home, in your hands, with your care team.

Start with a foot check See how the Lab works
Private by default It never diagnoses Your data stays home

Why it matters

When you can't feel it, a small thing becomes a serious thing.

Diabetic nerve damage can dull the feeling in your feet. A cut, blister, sore, or pressure spot can form with little or no pain to warn you.— NIDDK · NIH

Foot ulcers are one of the major pathways to diabetes-related lower-extremity amputation — and when caught early, many foot problems are treatable before they become a crisis.— Diabetes Care, 2023

A daily look is the simplest thing that changes the outcome. The trouble is remembering to look, and knowing what you're looking at.

High risk is real math · every figure fact-checked
Up to 1 in 2
people with diabetes develop nerve damage in their feet.
— NIDDK/NIH · Diabetes Care 2023
19–34%
will develop a foot ulcer in their lifetime.
— Diabetes Care, 2023
~40%
of healed ulcers return within a year.
— IWGDF 2023 · NEJM 2017
5-year survival
after a diabetic foot ulcer is comparable to many cancers.
— Armstrong et al., 2020
How a small sore turns serious

High blood sugar slows the immune cells that rush to a wound — so a diabetic foot is vulnerable to infection right when it's most fragile, and wounds can get stuck in inflammation instead of healing.

— eLife 2022 · Advances in Wound Care 2024 (established mechanism)

Starts as
A foot ulcer
→
Often already
Infected
~half when first seen
→
Reaches the
Bone
~4× amputation odds
→
Tissue loss
Gangrene
~11× amputation odds

Diabetic foot infections are the most common diabetes complication that puts people in the hospital — which is exactly why catching the ulcer early matters. — IDSA/IWGDF 2023 · PLoS One 2020 (odds ratios)

Watch · the one-minute story

Why we built the Lab.

OpenDiabetic Lab
The Digital Foot Lab
The 5-second bumper — watch the full minute below ↓

Daily foot care · early warning · personalized protection

The Lab, as a loop

Six steps that feed each other.

The photo you take Monday shapes the insert you wear Friday shapes the photo you take next Monday.

📷
Daily Foot Monitoring
see it every day
🤖
AI-Assisted Review
nothing slips past
👨‍⚕️
Clinician in the Loop
an expert confirms
👣
Personalized Offloading
take the pressure off
🖨️
Made-to-Fit Inserts, On Demand
the right insert, fast
📈
Continuous Foot Health
catch the next one early
Every figure adversarially fact-checked

Catching it early works. The evidence says so.

~50%
Prevention works.
Home foot-temperature checks cut new ulcers by roughly half across five randomized trials (RR 0.51).
Meta-analysis 2022 · IWGDF 2023
94%
Team care saves limbs.
A 2020 systematic review found multidisciplinary foot-care teams linked to fewer major amputations in 94% of studies reviewed.
J Vasc Surg, 2020
Offloading
Pressure is the problem to solve.
Relieving mechanical stress — offloading — is arguably the most important step in healing a foot ulcer.
IWGDF 2023

About one-third of the ~$237B spent on U.S. diabetes care is tied to foot complications — on par with treating all cancers. — Armstrong et al. 2020 (est.) · ADA 2017

Do it yourself · Foot temperature check
4°F / 2.2°C warmer

Check matching spots on both feet once a day with a simple infrared thermometer. A spot about 4°F (2.2°C) warmer than the same spot on the other foot can be an early sign of inflammation or pressure stress.

If the hotspot repeats
  • Take the pressure off that spot
  • Look at the skin closely
  • Take a photo to track it
  • Contact your care team

Sooner if there's redness, swelling, drainage, odor, pain, or any open area. A guide, not a diagnosis — your care team decides.

How it works

Three places it lives.

Step 01

At home

Take a quick photo of each foot with your phone. No appointment, no travel — just a minute, in your own bathroom light.

Step 02

In your hands

The Lab flags what changed and, when an insert can help, makes one to fit you — printed and shipped, no mould, no wait.

Step 03

With your care team

A real clinician reviews anything the Lab isn't sure about, so you and your doctor act on the same picture — together.

Ask Bee

Foot-care questions, answered calmly.

Bee is your foot-care guide. She's educational — she never diagnoses, and she always points you back to your care team. Here are the questions people ask most.

Why should I check my feet every day?+
Checking your feet daily helps you catch small changes early, before they become bigger problems. It's a simple way to stay safe and comfortable in everyday life. If you ever see something that worries you, reach out to your care team for guidance.
verifiedGrounded in IWGDF 2023 · ADA Standards of Care 2024 · reviewed Jul 2026
What am I actually looking for?+
Look closely at the skin and nails for any new cuts, blisters, or redness. Keep an eye on changes in color or warmth, too. If you notice anything that feels different or seems out of place, let your care team know early.
verifiedGrounded in IWGDF 2023 · reviewed Jul 2026
My feet feel numb — why does that make daily care more important?+
Numbness means you might not feel a cut or blister until it gets larger. Daily care helps keep your skin healthy and protected from injuries you wouldn't otherwise notice. It's a simple way to stay a step ahead.
verifiedGrounded in IWGDF 2023 · ADA Standards of Care 2024 · reviewed Jul 2026
I found a small blister, cut, or red spot. What should I do?+
Noticing a small blister or red spot isn't uncommon. If you can, gently clean the area with mild soap and water, then cover it lightly to protect it. If you see spreading redness, warmth, or pain, reach out to your care team for the best next steps.
verifiedGrounded in IWGDF 2023 · reviewed Jul 2026
When should I call my care team right away?+
Call your care team right away if you notice an open sore that isn't healing, sudden swelling, or redness spreading from a spot. Reach out too if pain is hard to ignore, walking feels difficult, or numbness changes how you move. It's always better to check early than to wait.
verifiedGrounded in IWGDF 2023 · ADA Standards of Care 2024 · reviewed Jul 2026
How do I check the bottoms of my feet if bending is hard?+
Use a hand-held mirror on the floor, or ask someone to help you look while you're seated or lying down. Feeling around gently with your hands helps too. Keep checking regularly — and tell your care team early if anything looks different from what you remember.
verifiedGrounded in ADA Standards of Care 2024 · reviewed Jul 2026
Does OpenDiabetic tell me what's wrong with my foot?+
OpenDiabetic helps you learn how to keep your feet safe and healthy. It shares information about foot health, but it does not diagnose or tell you what might be wrong. If you notice something new that worries you, check in with your care team for a look.
doctrineThe OpenDiabetic care doctrine · Bee never diagnoses

Reviewed against the OpenDiabetic care doctrine · Every answer is grounded in clinician-reviewed guidance and checked against the care doctrine — nothing reaches you unverified. Bee never diagnoses · always involve your care team.

A change caught early is a foot kept. Every step, receipted.

The Lab keeps a plain record of what it saw, what it suggested, and who confirmed it — a receipt for every foot check.

  • Private by default
  • Your data stays home
  • A real clinician confirms
  • It never diagnoses

Who it's for

The person in the chair — and everyone around them.

Type 1 or Type 2 — if you live with diabetes, your feet carry the risk.

Type 1 is autoimmune, Type 2 is insulin resistance — but both damage the nerves and circulation in your feet. And after a foot ulcer, Type 1 is not spared.— Diabetes Care, 2022

People living with diabetes

Type 1 or Type 2, newly diagnosed or decades in — especially anyone at higher risk, with neuropathy, a past ulcer, or reduced circulation. A daily check that fits into real life.

Caregivers

A partner, a son or daughter, a nurse. Someone who wants to help watch — and to know when it's time to call the clinic.

The clinic

Podiatry and primary-care teams who want eyes on feet between visits — with a clear record and their clinician kept in the loop.

The Why

I'm not writing this as a founder. I'm writing this as a Type 1 diabetic amputee.

I know the pain.

Type 1 is autoimmune — my own body turned on itself. You learn to live with the numbers. But the thing that took the most from me wasn't the blood sugar. It was my feet.

For a long time, I thought I had my foot care handled. I didn't. I wasn't checking every day — my prevention wasn't a daily habit, it was a someday habit. And by the time I really looked, an ulcer was already underway. That was the missing piece. Not knowledge. Not effort. Consistency — every single day.

I lost part of myself to it. But what I lost became my silver lining — the gift that brought me here. I own it. I embrace it. And I built it into this, so you can keep what I lost. That's the win. And I intend to win big.

Here's the truth nobody says loud enough: it's not the diabetes that kills you — it's the infection. A small change you can't feel becomes something you can't undo. You don't catch it by waiting until it hurts, or until it's ulcer-management time in the doctor's office. You catch it by looking today. And tomorrow. And the day after.

So I built what I needed — and what I didn't have: a lab that makes the daily check actually happen. Check today, every day. See what changed. Keep your care team in the loop before it's an emergency. Proactive, not reactive.

If my feet are in good health, the rest of me falls into place — and the only way to keep them that way is every day, not someday.

I'm a husband. A father of four. A builder. I'm doing this for the people living what I live — so they can keep what I lost. And so my kids will always know their dad built something that mattered. This is my legacy.

Helping people keep their feet. Every day, not someday.

— Donovan

Field Guides

The daily check, in a guide you can hold.

Plain-language, print-and-keep guides that turn the science into a five-minute habit. Read them free, or print one and tape it by the door.

Cover of Field Guide 001 — Daily Foot Check
Field Guide 001 · v1.0

Daily Foot Check

The 5-minute habit that could save your feet — why it matters, the step-by-step routine, what to look for, and when to call your care team.

Educational monitoring — never a diagnosis. Always involve your care team.

Keep your feet.
Start today.

One photo is all it takes to begin. We'll walk you through the rest.