Diabetic Feet Association

What Diabetic Feet Association does

The Southwestern Academic Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA), operating publicly as the Diabetic Feet Association / DF Blog, is an academic clinical and research alliance housed within the Department of Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Founded in 2009 and relocated from the University of Arizona to USC around 2011, the alliance delivers integrated limb-preservation care through a multidisciplinary 'Toe-and-Flow' service model combining vascular surgery, podiatric surgery, physical therapy, orthotics and prosthetics, neurosurgery, and health policy. Clinical operations span 6 hospitals across Los Angeles — including Keck, White Memorial, LA General, and Rancho Los Amigos — and generate more than 10,000 patient visits per year, with documented outcomes of up to 80% reduction in below-the-knee amputations at high-risk sites.

The alliance's core technology stack includes the Foot Selfie remote-monitoring platform (smartphone and smart-scale plantar imaging), the DFOCUS Clinic Utilization Score calculator, an NSF-funded Center to Stream Healthcare in Place (C2SHiP), wearable-sensor and digital-biomarker programs (led by Bijan Najafi at UCLA), and AI-driven tools such as an amputation-risk model (AUC 0.894 across 1,052 patients) and a retinal-biomarker deep-learning system. Research output exceeds 760 peer-reviewed publications; leadership includes David G. Armstrong (Distinguished Professor, founding co-editor of the ADA's Clinical Care of the Diabetic Foot) and William V. Padula (ISPOR Award for Excellence, 2024). The 2024-launched American Limb Preservation Society (ALPS) and a global collaboration network spanning more than 50 nations and 6 continents extend the alliance's reach.

The alliance's revenue mechanics are characteristic of an academic medical center rather than a commercial venture. Funding flows from three streams: clinical care revenue from standard medical billing across the 6-hospital network, federal research grants (documented $2.2M from NSF and NIH in 2011, with ongoing NIH/NSF support), and donations to the SALSA Foundation (contact: [email protected]). Go-to-market combines direct clinical care (regional), fellowship and visiting-scholar training (global), and a free content-marketing engine anchored by the DF Blog (diabeticfootonline.com), YouTube ToeandFlow channel, and Diabetic Foot Files / LIMBWatch podcast. Primary customers are patients with diabetes-related foot complications; secondary customers are healthcare providers, researchers, and health systems seeking training and evidence-based protocols.

Name

Diabetic Feet Association

Legal name

Southwestern Academic Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA)

Website

https://diabeticfootonline.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Southwestern Academic Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA), operating as the Diabetic Feet Association, is a USC Keck School of Medicine clinical research alliance delivering integrated diabetic limb preservation care across 6 Los Angeles hospitals, training global fellows, and publishing the DF Blog knowledge platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Limb Preservation and Diabetic Foot Care Services

NAICS

Offices of Podiatrists (621391)

SIC

Orthopedic, Prosthetic & Surgical Appliances & Supplies (3842)

akta.pro primary industry

Foot & Ankle (HLAKALAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) / Closed-Loop Systems (HLAHAHAF)

Keywords

• Limb salvage care
• Diabetic wound care
• Amputation prevention
• Podiatric medicine
• Clinical research services

Headquarters

HQ city

Riyadh

HQ country

Saudi Arabia

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Clinical Care Revenue: Revenue generated from direct patient care services across 6 hospitals in the Los Angeles area through the integrated limb salvage clinical service.
2. Research Grants and Funding: NIH-supported and NSF-funded research grants supporting peripheral artery disease, diabetic wound repair, and digital health initiatives.
3. Donations and Foundation Support: SALSA Foundation receives donations to foster research in amputation prevention and healing. Contact: [email protected]

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Diabetic Feet Association operates the Southwestern Academic Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA), an academic clinical and research program that delivers integrated multidisciplinary "Toe-and-Flow" limb preservation care across six Los Angeles hospitals. It also publishes the DF Blog (diabeticfootonline.com), trains clinicians through fellowship and visiting scholar programs, and runs remote-monitoring and AI-driven tools such as the Foot Selfie system, DFOCUS calculator, and AI-based amputation risk models.

Product overview

Diabetic Feet Association operates the DF Blog (diabeticfootonline.com), a comprehensive educational platform for diabetic foot care and amputation prevention. The core offerings include the DF Blog research publication, DFOCUS Calculator for clinic utilization forecasting, and Foot Selfie remote monitoring system. Supporting programs encompass the SALSA@USC Fellowship and Visiting Scholars Programs for clinical training, the Diabetic Foot Video Series for educational content, LIMBWatch podcast series, and patient guides including the 20 Steps Toward Foot Health resource. The organization integrates AI capabilities for predictive analytics (amputation risk modeling), computer vision (retinal biomarkers and foot imaging), and conversational AI (remission chatbots) to advance limb preservation outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Foot Selfie Remote Monitoring System Remote diabetic foot ulcer surveillance system combining smartphone photography and smart scale imaging to capture plantar foot images for early ulcer detection; serves diabetic patients at risk of foot complications and the clinicians who monitor them.
• DFOCUS (Diabetic Foot Online Clinic Utilization Score) Calculator Online calculator that estimates diabetic foot clinic volume and resource utilization from population diabetes prevalence data; for health systems, hospital administrators, and program planners sizing diabetic foot services.
• SALSA@USC Fellowship Program Clinical and research fellowship training future leaders in limb salvage, offering reconstructive foot and ankle surgical training and academic leadership development in diabetic foot care; for podiatric and vascular surgeons, physical therapists, and researchers worldwide.
• SALSA@USC Visiting Scholars Program International academic exchange program hosting visiting researchers and clinicians for periods exceeding 30 days with library privileges, seminar access, and laboratory facilities; for clinicians and scientists seeking immersion in limb-salvage practice and research.
• Integrated "Toe-and-Flow" Limb Salvage Clinical Service Multidisciplinary integrated limb preservation service combining vascular surgery, podiatric surgery, physical therapy, orthotics and prosthetics, neurosurgery, and health policy; delivered at six Los Angeles hospitals to prevent diabetes-related amputations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% reduction in below-the-knee amputations at high-risk sites
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core and flagship.

• Caltech / Almquist LabstrategicTechnology or Integration · 27 July 2026Collaboration on force-responsive biomaterials (TrAPs) technology for wound healing. Nature Materials study published July 2026 with USC involvement.
• Keck School of Medicine of USCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary academic institution housing SALSA. Department of Surgery provides the organizational base for clinical care, research, and fellowship programs.
• Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution for limb preservation program and orthotics/prosthetics research. Charles DuBourdieu directs O&P at this center.
• LA General Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKenneth R. Ziegler serves as Chief of Vascular Surgery, providing clinical care at this safety-net hospital.
• White Memorial HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSite for podiatric surgery and clinical research. Lucian Feraru and Clemente Clinical Research operate from this location.
• UCLAstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerBijan Najafi, PhD serves as Professor of Surgery at UCLA with research focus on wearable technology and digital health for diabetic foot care.
• USC Neurorestoration CenterstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharles Y. Liu directs this center, combining neurosurgery with neurological surgery, neurology, and biomedical engineering expertise.
• USC Schaeffer CenterstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth policy and economics research collaboration with William V. Padula and Ritika Chaturvedi working on digital health and health equity initiatives.
• International Research Network (50+ nations)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal collaborative network spanning more than 50 nations on 6 continents. Includes CLEAR, DIALEX, iCAMP, and ALPS programs with shared alumni and research initiatives.
• Clemente Clinical ResearchstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical research organization founded by Stanley Mathis and Scott Mathis, operating across 40 medical clinics in Southern California for community-centered research.
• American Limb Preservation Society (ALPS)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerALPS was built to serve as a 'dating app and marriage counselor' for clinicians working to eliminate preventable amputation. Website: limbpreservationsociety.org

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Orpyx Medical Technologies: Maker of sensor-insoles (SurroSense Rx) for diabetic foot ulcer prevention through pressure and temperature monitoring. Comparable to SALSA's wearable sensors and digital biomarker work for diabetic foot care.
• Orthofeet: Designer and retailer of orthopedic and diabetic footwear with biomechanical features. Comparable to SALSA's orthotics & prosthetics research and DIASSIST footwear adherence trial.
• Podimetrics: Commercial developer of the SmartMat, a remote temperature-monitoring device for early diabetic foot ulcer detection. Directly comparable to SALSA's Foot Selfie/Empo Footprint platform in remote diabetic foot surveillance.
• American Limb Preservation Society (ALPS): Member society founded by SALSA leadership to connect clinicians preventing amputation. Directly comparable as the professional/community counterpart to SALSA's research and clinical mission in limb preservation.
• Dr. Comfort: Manufacturer of diabetic and orthopedic footwear, insoles, and compression socks sold through healthcare providers. Comparable as a footwear-and-orthotics product line referenced in DIASSIST-style adherence interventions.

Emerging players

• Siren: Developer of smart socks with embedded temperature sensors for diabetic foot ulcer early detection. Conceptually adjacent to SALSA's 2011 NSF-funded 'smart socks' research and current Foot Selfie system.
• MiMedx: Regenerative medicine company with placental tissue allografts used in diabetic foot ulcer and wound care. Comparable adjacent player in advanced wound-healing modalities that SALSA's research could eventually compete with or partner alongside.
• Organogenesis: Commercial regenerative medicine company selling wound-healing products (Apligraf, Dermagraft) for diabetic foot ulcers. Comparable to SALSA's TrAPs biomaterials pipeline as a translational wound-care platform.

Broad incumbents

• Medtronic Diabetes: Major medical-device incumbent in diabetes care (CGM, insulin pumps, AID systems). Comparable as a large diabetes-care platform with adjacent digital health and patient-monitoring capabilities.
• Joslin Diabetes Center: Harvard-affiliated academic diabetes center with multidisciplinary foot care programs. Comparable as a leading academic diabetes clinical-research enterprise with established outcomes research.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/dgarmstrong
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ToeandFlow
• Facebookfacebook.com/david.g.armstrong
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/diabetic-foot-association-0b3781370
• Instagraminstagram.com/d.g.armstrong

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Diabetic Feet Association