UPrevent

It is estimated that on an average 7% of the world population are diabetics now and this number is estimated to increase to 8.3% by 2030 .On an average every 30 s an extremity is amputated due to complications of diabetes mellitus and the majority of these amputations are secondary to foot ulcers. Diabetic foot ulcer is not only a patient problem but also a major health care concern throughout the world. Diabetic foot ulcer is one of the common and serious complications in diabetic patients. Treatment of infection in diabetic ulcer is difficult and expensive.

Patients usually need to take long-term medications or become hospitalized for an extended period of time. It is estimated that usually 15-25% of diabetic patients develop Diabetic foot ulcer during their lifetime. On the other hand, more than 70% of patients who have developed Diabetic foot ulcer, experience an exacerbation of the disease in the next 5 years. If an ulcer develops unfortunately, the treatment is challenging and need long duration. Teamwork consists of orthopedic surgeon, endocrinologist, infectious disease physician and a trained nurse in dressing is necessary to care for the wound. Moreover, diabetic foot ulcer treatment is expensive. On an average, the year treatment cost for wounds in Greece is 6.143 Euros. However, if the wound becomes complicated and amputated, the cost will rise to almost 60000 Euros.

Therefore, based on the noble quote in health care profession “prevention is better than the treatment of the disease,”. Hence the purpose of the present proposal is to develop a smart insole for foot ulcer prevention in diabetic patients. Pressure sensors and actuators will be embedded into customized insoles to redistribute high-risk plantar pressures in localized plantar regions, such as metatarsal head and heel regions. The automatic adaptations of the shoe insole’s rigidity will redistribute the plantar pressure when the plantar pressure, as detected by the insole sensors, exceeds the preset threshold level.

Consortium

CENTRE OF RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY HELLAS (CERTH) (ITI, ΙΒΟ)
BIOMECHANICAL SOLUTIONS
STEPHANE BILLON TECHNOLOGIES
SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF THESSALY
POLYTECH AE