Inexpensive Foot Digitizing Device for Diabetic Footwear

描述(由申请人提供)：使用CAD/CAM技术为糖尿病患者设计和制造定制鞋垫，有可能彻底改变为有足部溃疡病史的糖尿病患者提供的护理质量，或者更好地为更多有溃疡风险但实际上没有溃疡的患者提供护理质量。使用这种方法，矫形器的个性化可以变得比使用仍然常见的手工制作更精确、更一致、更便宜。有几家公司已经开发出能够实现此类矫形器自动化生产的系统，在每一种情况下，足部形状的准确测量都是该系统的关键组成部分。现有的方法使用复杂的足部数字化机器来测量脚部几何形状，并使用CAD/CAM技术来创建鞋垫。这些系统非常昂贵，而这一成本的很大一部分是由于使用的足部数字化设备。这个项目的目标是开发和制作一种廉价的设备--触觉足迹，来测量人体的三维形状 脚的足底表面，并生成脚形状的数字表示。拟议设计的主要优点是高分辨率、低成本和简单，这使得儿科医生和其他临床医生更容易接触到它。这项研究的初始阶段将开发一个功能样机和必要的软件。然后，第二阶段将完善这一原型设计和配套软件，降低其总体成本，并为上市做好准备。这个项目是DIApedia整体努力的一部分，目的是为高危糖尿病患者设计和提供一个基于明确的科学支持的设计算法的矫形系统。

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.