Biometric Parameters Assessment for Foot Ulcers Prevention Through Wearable Devices

Abstract

A fast and reliable identification of foot pressure loads and temperature distributions changes on the plantar surface allows to prevent and reduce the consequences of ulceration of the diabetic foot. This work presents a smart insole in which both temperature and pressure data in 8 reading points are monitored in remote way for the assessment of the health foot conditions by a caregiver. Minimally invasive and low power temperature and force sensors have been chosen and integrated into two antibacterial polyurethane-based layers architecture. In this work the attention was focused on the heat transfer between the insole and the foot. Finite element simulations were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the sensor array to detect, from thermal gradients measured on the plantar surface, inflammatory events that can be attributed to early signs of foot ulceration. The results demonstrated that small differences of temperature between the eight sensor nodes of the array can be discriminated and used to prevent the onset of ulcerative lesions, also giving a supplementary information about the position closer to a potential inflamed region of the foot.