Foot Pressure and Shear Data Visualization System

描述（由申请人提供）：足部溃疡是一种糖尿病并发症，仅在美国每年就导致超过10亿美元的医疗费用。为了更好地量化溃疡形成所涉及的外力，研究人员正在开发新的硬件系统，可以测量剪切应力和垂直压力。随着这些系统的商业化，将需要可视化软件来显示和分析3D 作用于足底表面的应力。拟议的研究将开发一种先进的足部压力和剪切数据可视化系统，该系统基于变形的2D丝网的创新使用来指示压力，结合更传统的垂直高程和颜色编码来指示压力。这种新的软件将适用于各种测量系统，并将允许临床医生看到足底表面上最大压力和剪切位置的精确三维表示。此外，将开发新的分析算法来识别皮肤压力和应力模式（例如，聚束、剪切或拉伸）最有可能导致病理后果。这种先进软件的可用性， 与新的压力/剪切硬件测量系统相结合，将大大改善糖尿病患者足部溃疡的诊断、预防和治疗。 拟定商业应用： 根据美国糖尿病协会的数据，美国约有1600万糖尿病患者，每年有80万新诊断。 对于这些患者来说，足部并发症比任何其他临床问题都要住院，足底溃疡是随后足部截肢的主要原因。 拟议的研究将导致一个新的商业软件产品，主要目的是预防和治疗糖尿病足溃疡。 此外，该产品的应用范围还可以扩展到每年约100万名患有压疮的患者，以及因外周血管疾病而面临皮肤破裂风险的假肢患者。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Foot ulceration is a diabetic complication that results in over $1 billion worth of medical expenses per year in the United States alone. To better quantify the external forces involved in ulceration, researchers are developing new hardware systems that can measure both shear stress and vertical pressure. As these systems are commercialized, visualization software will be required for display and analysis of the 3-D stresses acting on the plantar surface. The proposed research will develop an advanced foot pressure and shear data visualization system, based on the innovative use of a deformed 2-D wire mesh to indicate stress, combined with more traditional vertical elevations and color-coding to indicate pressure. This new software will be adaptable to a variety of measurement systems, and will allow a clinician to see an accurate, 3-D representation of the maximum pressure and shear locations on the plantar surface. Also, novel analysis algorithms will be developed to identify areas where skin pressure and stress patterns (e.g., bunching, shearing, or stretching) are most likely to cause pathological consequences. Availability of this advanced software, in combination with new pressure/shear hardware measurement systems, will greatly improve the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of foot ulcers in diabetic patients. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: According to the American Diabetes Association, there are approximately 16 million patients in the United States with diabetes, with 800,000 new diagnoses each year. For these patients, foot complications account for more hospitalizations than any other clinical problem, and plantar ulcerations are a major reason for subsequent foot amputation. The proposed research will lead to a new commercial software product aimed primarily at the prevention and treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. In addition, product applications can be extended to the estimated 1 million patients per year who develop pressure ulcer bedsores, as well as to prosthetic limb patients who are at risk of skin breakdown due to peripheral vascular disease.