Low-cost in-shoe pressure measurement

这一可行性项目的成功完成将产生一种新的测量系统，用于评估在日常生活活动中发生足部溃疡的风险脚的负荷。因此，它将在疾病预防和健康和慢性病的主动管理方面具有巨大的潜力。这一新系统将简单易用，其成本仅为现有电子鞋内压力传感器的一小部分。这将使它能够在糖尿病患者的广泛队列中使用，通过更好的风险评估和循证干预来加强溃疡的预防。更具体地说，拟议的系统将为新的筛查方案开辟道路，以识别脚部关键区域超负荷并因此有患溃疡风险的人。此外，它还将使从事糖尿病足工作的医疗专业人员能够识别足部承受严重高负荷的区域，并设计有效的干预措施来减轻它们的负担。总体而言，拟议的系统将使临床医生能够及早有效地进行干预，以防止溃疡，最重要的是防止首次溃疡。糖尿病及其并发症的管理是我们这个时代最关键的社会挑战之一。仅在英国，就有360万人患有糖尿病，据估计，其中约15%的人会在某个阶段发展为糖尿病足溃疡，可能导致截肢。事实上，在英国，每周有多达135人因糖尿病而截肢，这对患者的生活质量和死亡率产生了巨大影响。拟议项目的成功完成将大大有助于解决这一关键的社会挑战。溃烂率的降低也将为NHS节省大量资金，并为英国带来经济利益。糖尿病足并发症的临床护理费用超过了五种最昂贵的癌症的总和。在英国，截肢和溃疡治疗每年的直接成本估计在9.7亿至11.3亿英镑/年之间。事实上，据计算，溃烂率略微降低1%，每年将为NHS节省120万至480万GB的直接治疗费用。

"The successful completion of this feasibility project will generate a novel measurement system for assessing the loading that is applied on the foot-at-risk of developing a foot ulcer during activities of daily living. It therefore would have significant potential for disease prevention and proactive management of health and chronic conditions.This novel system will be simple and easy to use and it will cost only a fraction of the cost of existing electronic in-shoe pressure sensors. This will enable its use in wide cohorts of people with diabetes to enhance prevention of ulcers through better risk assessment and evidence-based interventions. More specifically, the proposed system will open the way for new screening protocols to identify people that overload critical areas of their feet and therefore are at risk of developing an ulcer. Moreover, it will also enable healthcare professionals working on diabetic feet to identify the areas of the foot that are subjected to critically high loading and to design effective interventions to offload them. Overall the proposed system will empower clinicians to intervene early and effectively to prevent ulcerations and most importantly to prevent the first ulceration.The management of diabetes and its complications is one of the most critical societal challenges of our age. In the UK alone, there are 3.6 million people already living with diabetes and it is estimated that approximately 15% of them will at some stage develop diabetic foot ulceration that could lead to amputation. Indeed, in the UK up to 135 people/week have a limb amputated as a result of diabetes with a huge impact on the patients' quality of life and mortality rate. The successful completion of the proposed project will significantly help address this key societal challenge.A reduction in ulceration rates will also result in massive savings for the NHS and economic benefits for the UK. The clinical care of diabetic foot complications cost more than the five most costly forms of cancer put together. In the UK the annual direct cost of amputations and ulcer management is estimated to be between £0.97-1.13 billion/ year. Indeed, it is calculated that a modest 1% reduction in ulceration rates will translate in annual savings for NHS of £1.2 - 4.8 million in direct treatment cost."