Smart insole for diabetic foot ulceration prevention

Project in collaboration with “Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève”


Project description

At LAI, we develop a smart insole for diabetic patients in order to prevent diabetic foot ulceration (DFU). The main etiologies of DFU are high plantar pressures that appear on the diabetic foot in combination with peripheral neuropathy, a disorder that leads to the loss of pain sensation. The current solutions are purely mechanical systems that are bulky and are deteriorating the everyday life of patients. Our aim is to develop a insole that can be easily worn by patients and that is able to offload pressure actively according to pressure measurements. For that reason, we employed magnetorheological (MR) valves, valves that use the working principle of MR fluids.

Magnetorheological (MR) fluids is a type of smart material that consists of micron-sized iron particles dispersed in a carrier medium such as oil and water. The application of an external magnetic field leads to the arrangement of the particles in parallel with the field lines and to the increase of viscosity of the fluid. The increase is reversible. This principle is used in the valves that can work in two states and either offload or sustain the applied foot pressure.

Mechanical Drawing of a Single Module – Prototype of a Functional Intelligent Shoe

 

Press Release

letemps.ch

Actualités EPFL

RTS la 1ère – CQFD – Au chevet des pieds des personnes diabétiques

24 heures – Diabète: Une chaussure intelligente pour prévenir l’amputation

NZZ – Hilfe für Diabetes-Patienten: Intelligente Schuhsohle soll Amputationen verhindern

Le Monde – Science et médecine – Des chaussures pour protéger les pieds diabétiques

SWI Swissinfo – Intelligente Schuhsohle soll Amputationen verhindern

Südostschweiz – Intelligenter Schuh hilft Diabetikern

Basellandschaftliche Zeitung – Intelligente Schuhsohle soll Amputationen verhindern

Medical Xpress – A smart shoe to help reduce diabetic amputations

Publications

A Tunable Self-Offloading Module for Plantar Pressure Regulation in Diabetic Patients

B. Tiwari; K. Jeanmonod; P. Germano; C. Köchli; S. L. Ntella et al. 

Applied System Innovation. 2024-01-18. Vol. 7, num. 1, p. 9. DOI : 10.3390/asi7010009.

A Polyester–Nylon Blend Plantar Pressure Sensing Insole for Person With Diabetes

B. Tiwari; S. L. Ntella; K. Jeanmonod; P. Germano; C. Koechli et al. 

IEEE Sensors Letters. 2023-12-01. Vol. 8, num. 1, p. 1-4. DOI : 10.1109/LSENS.2023.3338374.

Intelligent plantar pressure offloading for the prevention of diabetic foot ulcers and amputations

S. L. Hemler; S. L. Ntella; K. Jeanmonod; C. Köchli; B. Tiwari et al. 

Frontiers in Endocrinology. 2023-07-04. Vol. 14. DOI : 10.3389/fendo.2023.1166513.

Pressure Offloading Device for Diabetic Footwear Based on Magnetorheological Fluids

S. L. Ntella; K. Jeanmonod; Y. R. C. Civet; C. Köchli; Y. Perriard 

2022-12-21. 25th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Chiang Mai, Thailand, November 29-December 2, 2022. DOI : 10.1109/ICEMS56177.2022.9982804.

Optimal Design of Magnetorheological Valve Integrated in an Intelligent Footwear for Diabetic Patients with Foot Insensitivity

T. Duong; S. L. Ntella; K. Jeanmonod; X. Ren; Y. Civet et al. 

2021-01-01. 24th International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS), Gyeongju, SOUTH KOREA, Oct 31-Nov 03, 2021. p. 111-115. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS52562.2021.9634313.

Preliminary Study of Pressure Self-Sensing Miniature Magnetorheological Valves

S. L. Ntella; K. Jeanmonod; Minh-Trung Duong; Y. Civet; C. Koechli et al. 

2021-01-01. IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), ELECTR NETWORK, Jul 12-16, 2021. p. 606-611. DOI : 10.1109/AIM46487.2021.9517656.

Design optimization of Miniature Magnetorheological Valves with Self-Sensing Capabilities Used for a Wearable Medical Application

S. L. Ntella; M. T. Duöng; Y. R. C. Civet; Z. Pataky; Y. Perriard 

2020-08-05. 2020 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), Boston, USA, July 6-9, 2020 (Virtual Conference). p. 409-414. DOI : 10.1109/AIM43001.2020.9158847.

Optimization of Radial Magnetorheological Valves with Constraints of Volume, Pressure Drop and Power Consumption

S. L. Ntella; M. T. Duöng; P. Mohaghegh; Y. R. C. Civet; Z. Pataky et al. 

2020. ICEMS – International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems, Hamamatsu – Japan, November 24-27, 2020. p. 1578-1582. DOI : 10.23919/ICEMS50442.2020.9290870.