Scientists have developed a shoe insole that could help heal diabetic ulcers - a condition that often leads patients to lose their toes, foot or leg.
Diabetes can lead to ulcers that patients do not feel or notice until the sight of blood. These ulcers can not heal on their own.
Researchers from Purdue University in the US have made the healing process more portable for those who develop ulcers as a result of diabetes.
Diabetic ulcers commonly result from high blood sugar damaging nerves, which takes away feeling from the toes or feet.
“We typically treat ulcers by removing devitalised tissue from the surface of the wound, and by helping the patient to find ways to take the weight off the affected foot,” said Desmond Bell, from the Memorial Hospital the US.
Researchers used lasers to shape silicone-based rubber into insoles, and then create reservoirs that release oxygen only at the part of the foot where the ulcer is located.
However, the insole can be customized to take on any weight, the researchers say.
The team envisions a manufacturer sending a patient a pack of pre-filled insoles customised to his or her wound site, based on a "wound profile" obtained from a doctor's prescription and a picture of the foot.
Next, the researchers want to create a way to 3D print the whole insole, rather than printing a mold first and then laser-machining a pattern. They also plan to test the insole on actual diabetic ulcers, to further gauge how well they advance the healing process.
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