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.
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Press Release
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
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