Inexpensive Foot Digitizing Device for Diabetic Footwear

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The design and manufacture of custom insoles for patients with diabetes using CAD/CAM technology has the potential to revolutionize the quality of care provided to diabetic patients with a history of foot ulceration, or preferably to the much larger group of patients at risk for ulceration, but who have not actually ulcerated. Using this approach individualization of the orthotic could become much more precise, consistent and less expensive than utilizing the still usual handcrafting. Several companies have developed systems that enable the automated production of such orthoses and, in each case; the accurate measurement of foot shape is a critical component of the system. Existing approaches use sophisticated foot digitizing machines to measure foot geometry and CAD/CAM technology to create the insole. These systems are very costly, and a significant portion of this cost is due to the foot digitizing devices used. The objective of this project is to develop and prototype an inexpensive device, the Haptic Footprint, to measure the three-dimensional shape of the plantar surface of the foot and generate a digital representation of the foot shape. The major strengths of the proposed design are its high resolution, low cost, and simplicity, which make it much more accessible to pedorthists and other clinicians. The initial phase of this study will develop a functional prototype device and necessary software. The second phase will then refine this prototype design and accompanying software, reduce its overall cost, and prepare it for market introduction. This project is part of an overall effort at DIApedia to design and offer an orthotic system for at-risk diabetic patients that is based on clear scientifically supported design algorithms.