STRIDER
Project Lead and Organisation
Dr Dinesh Selvarajah, University of Sheffield
When did project start?
May 2021
Clinical Requirement
One in four patients with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer over the course of their lifetime and one in five of these will require an amputation which is devastating for the patient and their family. It is also costly for the NHS. Close to a £1billion is spent each year on diabetes-related amputations – equivalent to £1 in every £212 the NHS spends. The numbers of diabetes related amputations are rising (8,000 per year presently) and urgent action is needed to reverse this trend.
Almost all lower limb amputations start with ulcers and can be prevented with early recognition and multidisciplinary diabetic foot ulcer management. Innovations that promote rapid and complete ulcer healing and reduce the need for expensive surgical procedures will impact costs substantially and prevent patients needing to experience surgery involving loss of limbs.
Project
This project harnesses technology via linkage of smart shoe insoles to mobile phone technology, in order to provide real time feedback to patients on pressures exerted on the soles of their feet, to help them adapt their behaviour day to day to accelerate healing of active foot ulcers.
The smart phone platform will be co-designed with patients and clinicians, in order to make it accessible and easy to navigate.
Impact
- Evaluation of the feasibility of using this technology within podiatry services
- Evaluation of the power of this approach to achieve behaviour change in patients and so accelerate healing of foot ulcers
Partners
- University of Sheffield
- NIHR Devices for Dignity MedTech Co-operative
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Podiatry Services)
- Manchester Metropolitan University
- FeetMe
Funding
This project is in receipt of Sheffield Hospitals Charity funding, University of Sheffield Knowledge Exchange funding & support from FeetMe.
