Diabetes: a smart shoe to help reduce amputations

02. EPFL researchers have developed a shoe sole with valves that electronically control the pressure applied to the arch of the foot. The goal is to relieve foot ulcers commonly caused by diabetes and help them heal to avoid dangerous secondary infections. Diabetes can lead to dangerous complications that all too often end in amputation of the foot or even death. To avoid these eventualities, a team of researchers from EPFL is collaborating with the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) on a smart shoe. The technology is based on actuators that electronically control the stiffness of the sole in order to reduce the onset of diabetic foot ulcers and prevent existing ones from worsening. An initial prototype has just been completed.