Smart Diabetic Socks: Embedded device for diabetic foot prevention

Antoine Perrier (1, 2) , Nicolas Vuillerme (2) , Vincent Luboz (1) , Marek Bucki (3) , Francis Cannard (3) , Bruno Diot (2) , Denis Colin (4) , Delphine Rin (5) , Jean-Philippe Bourg (5) , Yohan Payan (6)

1 TIMC-IMAG - Techniques de l'Ingénierie Médicale et de la Complexité - Informatique, Mathématiques et Applications, Grenoble - UMR 5525
2 AGIM - AGeing and IMagery
3 S.A.S. Texisense
4 Centre de rééducation fonctionnelle de l'Arche
5 IFTH - Institut Français du Textile et de l'Habillement
6 TIMC-IMAG-GMCAO - Gestes Medico-chirurgicaux Assistés par Ordinateur

1) Objectives Most foot ulcers are the consequence of a trauma (repetitive high stress, ill-fitting footwear, or an object inside the shoe) associated to diabetes. They are often followed by amputation and shorten life expectancy. This paper describes the prototype of the Smart Diabetic Socks that has been developed in the context of the French ANR TecSan project. The objective is to prevent pressure foot ulcers for diabetic persons. 2) Material and methods A fully wireless, customizable and washable "smart sock" has been designed. It is made of a textile which fibers are knitted in a way they provide measurements of the pressure exerted under and all around the foot in real-life conditions. This device is coupled with a subject-specific Finite Element foot model that simulates the internal strains within the soft tissues of the foot. 3) Results A number of derived stress indicators can be computed based on that analysis, such as the accumulated stress dose, high internal strains or peak pressures near bony prominences during gait. In case of risks for pressure ulcer, an alert is sent to the person and/or to the clinician. A watch, a smart-phone or a distant laptop can be used for providing such alert.

Mots clés: pressure ulcer prevention; diabetes; biomechanical model; finite element method; diabetic foot

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

Antoine Perrier, Nicolas Vuillerme, Vincent Luboz, Marek Bucki, Francis Cannard, et al.. Smart Diabetic Socks: Embedded device for diabetic foot prevention. Innovation and Research in BioMedical engineering, 2014, 32 (2), pp.72-76. ⟨10.1016/j.irbm.2014.02.004⟩. ⟨hal-00979137⟩