Biomechanical modeling of the foot to study and prevent the formation of ulcers.

Vincent Luboz (1) , Marek Bucki (1, 2) , Ian Stavness (3) , Francis Cannard (2) , Yohan Payan (4)

1 TIMC-IMAG - Techniques de l'Ingénierie Médicale et de la Complexité - Informatique, Mathématiques et Applications, Grenoble - UMR 5525
2 S.A.S. Texisense
3 UBC - Human Communication Technologies Research Laboratory
4 TIMC-IMAG-GMCAO - Gestes Medico-chirurgicaux Assistés par Ordinateur

Most of the foot ulcers are created by compression of the soft tissues (muscles, fat, skin, tendons, and ligaments) by the bones. Such ulcers are treatable when discovered early but can have dramatic outcomes as time passes. Unfortunately, the natural prevention of ulcerations is disturbed when patients are immobilised or cannot feel their extremities (due to nervous disabilities or diabetes). Our group has proposed the "Smart Sock" which is a 100% textile device made of a network of pressure sensors monitoring the stresses applied around the foot. The idea is to estimate, from these surface stresses, the internal stresses that might be at risk using a patient-specific Finite Element model of the foot. When internal pressures computed by the model reach a critical level, a warning is sent to the patient.

Mots clés: pressure ulcers prevention; biomechanics; finite element model

Domaines: Biomécanique [physics.med-ph]; Biomécanique [physics.med-ph]; Ingénierie biomédicale

Vincent Luboz, Marek Bucki, Ian Stavness, Francis Cannard, Yohan Payan. Biomechanical modeling of the foot to study and prevent the formation of ulcers.. 18th Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics (ESB2012), 2012, Lisbon, Portugal. pp.S192. ⟨hal-00739449⟩