to help doctors and virtual providers manage and treat diabetic foot ulcer wounds.
Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) wounds are a massive problem in the United States. Complications cost the US healthcare around $80 billion every year. In the US, between 1M and 3.5M people have suffered diabetic foot ulcers, and "one in every three dollars spent on diabetes care is linked to diabetic foot ulcers". And 80% of patients die within 5 years after amputation.
Every 20 seconds, someone loses a limb to diabetes, and 85% of diabetes-related amputations start with a wound.
The main problem behind diabetic foot amputations is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Its antibiotic resistant properties, combined with low blood flow to the extremities makes diabetic foot ulcer infections very hard to treat with traditional antibiotics.
Once the Staph is cleared, standard antibiotics treatments have been shown to resume effectivity.
In a few clinical case series and case reports, bacteriophage-based treatments (or "phage therapy") have been shown to be superior to traditional antibiotics in diabetic foot ulcers.
We use phages — or viruses that kill bacteria — to cut off the head of the snake.
In many cases, using phage therapy will allow patients to apply treatments to their wounds at home. An at home treatment program would reduce the costs of treatments per patient, while increasing the number of patients clinics could handle at a time
By combining phage therapy with virtual care, patients will both save their limbs and decrease the number of trips to the clinic.
Initially, we plan to partner with virtual health companies, hospitals, clinics, and doctors and podiatrists. We plan on charging a fee for access to our service includes access to our doctors and specialists, our phage diagnostics services, remote patient monitoring service.