Researchers at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), in collaboration with the Karnataka Institute of Endocrinology and Research (KIER), have developed a set of unique self-regulating footwear for persons with diabetes.
Foot injuries or wounds in persons with diabetes heal at a slower rate than in healthy individuals, which increases the chance of infection, and may lead to complications that require amputation in extreme cases.
The footwear developed by the IISc-led team is 3D printed and can be customised to an individual’s foot and walking style. Unlike conventional therapeutic footwear, a snapping mechanism in these sandals keeps the feet well-balanced, enabling faster healing of the injured region and preventing injuries from arising in other areas of the feet, explained an IISc. release.
The footwear can be especially beneficial for people who have diabetic peripheral neuropathy – those who suffer from nerve damage caused by diabetes, leading to a loss of sensation in the foot, said the release.
Explaining further, Pavan Belehalli, Head of the Department of Podiatry at KIER, and one of the authors of the study published in Wearable Technologies, said diabetic peripheral neuropathy is one of the long-term complications of diabetes and its diagnosis is mostly neglected. This loss of sensation leads to irregular walking patterns in persons with diabetes.
“Regions of the foot where the pressure exerted is high are at greater risk of developing ulcers, corns, calluses, and other complications. Most of the therapeutic footwear available in the market is ineffective at off-loading the uneven pressure exerted by the abnormal gait cycle of persons with diabetes,” said the release.
To address this challenge, the researchers designed arches in their sandals that ‘snap’ to an inverted shape when a pressure beyond a certain threshold is applied.
“When we remove the pressure, the arch will automatically come back to its initial position – this is what is called self-offloading. We consider the individual’s weight, foot size, walking speed, and pressure distribution to arrive at the maximum force that has to be off-loaded,” explained first author Priyabrata Maharana, PhD student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IISc.
Multiple arches have been designed along the length of the footwear to off-load the pressure effectively. “This is a mechanical solution to a problem. Most of the time, people use electromechanical solutions. Such solutions involve using sensors and actuators that can rack up the price of the footwear and make them very expensive,” said G.K. Ananthasuresh, Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IISc., and senior author of the study.
The team is collaborating with start-ups Foot Secure and Yostra Labs to commercialise their product.
