AN INTELLIGENT FOOT MONITORING SYSTEM FOR DIABETIC PATIENTS TO PREVENT FOOT ULCERATIONS

摘要

Elevated plantar pressure plays a major role in foot problems in diabetic patients. High pressures interrupt arterial blood flow, which is further compounded by the fact that diabetic patients lose sensory feedback from their feet, hence are not able to change their stance leading to unnatural pressure points. This can lead to dermal ulcerations, necrosis, and ultimately to partial or total amputation of the foot. This paper presents a preliminary design of an intelligent shoe-insert that automatically monitors critical foot parameters in diabetic patients. The objective is to collect information on plantar pressure, temperature and moisture and come up with a system that would help in the prevention of foot ulcerations. This would be accomplished by keeping track of these parameters and sounding alarms when critical thresholds may be reached. This paper describes a comprehensive monitoring system with sensing, A/D, data storage, interpretation, transmission and alarm sounding capabilities in a single unit.