IISc develops self-regulating footwear for people with diabetes

Researchers in the department of mechanical engineering, the 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 people with diabetes.

Foot injuries or wounds in people with diabetes heal at a slower rate than in healthy individuals.

This increases the chances of infection and may lead to complications that require amputation in extreme cases.

The footwear – a pair of specially-designed sandals – developed by the IISc-led team is 3D-printed and can be customised to an individual’s foot dimensions and walking style.

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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 in other areas of the feet.

The footwear is 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.

“Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is one of the long-term complications of diabetes, and its diagnosis is mostly neglected,” says Pavan Belehalli, head of the department of podiatry at KIER, and one of the authors of the study published in Wearable Technologies.

The loss of sensation leads to irregular walking patterns in persons with diabetes, he says.

Most of the therapeutic footwear that is available in the market is ineffective at off-loading the uneven pressure exerted by the 'abnormal' gait cycle of persons with diabetes, the researchers say.

To address this challenge, they 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,” explains first author Priyabrata Maharana, PhD student in the department of mechanical engineering, IISc.

The team is collaborating with start-ups Foot Secure and Yostra Labs to commercialise its product.