Footwear for diabetics
M V Hospital develops the footwear along with Central Leather Research Institute
| Addressing a press conference, Vijay Viswanathan, joint managing director, M V Hospital, said the joint research study, aimed at preventing foot complications for the low and moderate risk categories of patients, would soon be published. Novo Nordisk Education Foundation provided Rs 5 lakh for this research work. |
| B N Das, senior assistant director and head, CLRI, said the institute, which completed the research in three years, had developed the footwear using cushioning material like polyeurothane (PU). It has used a full-length PU foam inner sole which can be changed once in six or eight months at a cost of Rs 100-Rs 150. |
| He said that the footwear was fabricated with specially designed rocker bottomed soles to relieve biomechanical stresses and has been designed with soles made of PU with extra depth to provide larger area for more effective pressure distribution. |
| "This would ensure that patients will not experience areas of stress concentration in their underfoot and therefore they would not progress to the next stage of risk, said Viswanathan. |
| MV Hospitals has been monitoring patient trials and follow-ups. "The trials we did on 50 patients in the low and moderate risk categories, ie, patients with neuropathy, but with no deformity in their feet, had shown good results," said Viswanathan. |
| The price of the footwear is yet to be decided. However, the material cost alone is about Rs 500, according to Das. |
| Viswanathan also highlighted M V Hospitals' other research initiatives like clinical trials of three molecules for Type 2 diabetes and its collaboration with US institute to prevent diabetic foot amputations. |