Stocking To Detect Neuropathic Foot Wounds

Today's post from diabetes.co.uk (see link below) talks about a new, prototype product designed to help neuropathy patients who have lost so much feeling from their feet that they become prone to injury, pressure sores and open wounds (without realising it). It's a stocking with inbuilt sensors that monitors unduly high pressures on the foot and alerts the wearer to the problem before it causes physical injury. The problem is that it's currently only a prototype and is probably going to be very expensive but if it gets past the development stage, it could be a very useful tool which will hopefully prevent the nasty injuries loss of feeling in the feet can cause.

New pressure-monitoring device could prevent neuropathy-related injuries
Thu, 14 May 2015

Researchers from Germany have developed a pressure-monitoring stocking that could prevent foot wounds in people with diabetic neuropathy.

The device, which was developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg, uses integrated sensors to send warnings when pressure on the foot is too high, essentially performing the job of the nerves in the feet.
Neuropathy and foot pressure Diabetic neuropathy is one of the most common diabetic complications. Over time, prolonged exposure to high blood glucose levels damages the nerves in the feet. Diabetic neuropathy is the leading cause of amputation in the UK.

When people develop diabetic neuropathy, they lose the feeling in their feet. This can have a number of damaging effects. One such effect is the inability to notice the amount of pressure being placed on the feet. People without diabetic neuropathy have functioning nerve pathways that automatically redistribute when the person is standing up for a long time.

Over time, excessive weight placed on the feet can lead to the development of pressure sores, which can in turn lead to open wounds or damaged foot tissue.
How does the pressure stocking work? The stocking features 40 dielectric elastomer sensors that measures pressure distribution. The sensors are made from a special silicone film. When pressure builds on the foot - usually because of standing in the same place for a while - the sensors transmit a signal to a wireless electronics unit.

The stocking will cost around £180.
What makes the pressure stocking different? There are several products available to balance out pressure on the foot for people with diabetes, but this one is different, according to Dr. Bernhard Brunner, of the Fraunhofer institute:

"Existing systems on the market measure the pressure distribution only on the bottom of the foot using shoe inserts. Our sensors are attached to the stocking's sole, at the hell, the top of the foot and the ankle, so they can take readings in three dimensions. This is a totally new approach."
Moving forward The device is brand new, and some creases still to be ironed out. Dr. Brunner explained the challenges that face the team going forward:

"With the current prototype, the electronics are attached to the end of the stocking. We're planning to relocate them to a small, button-sized housing that can be detached with a hook-and-loop fastening strip. There's no way around this until a reliable method for cleaning the electronics is developed."

The sensors have to be washable, too. "The first washability tests are in planning, but cleaning using disinfectant is no problem."

The researchers have filed a patent application for the stockings. From May 19 to May 20, the team will be presenting a prototype of the stockings at the SENSOR+TEST 2015 Measurement Fair in Nuremberg.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2015/may/new-pressure-monitoring-device-could-prevent-neuropathy-related-injuries-97065315.html

NOW DOGS CAN DETECT CANCER TOO

If you think dogs only sniff out hidden drugs and decomposed bodies then think again. They also have the ability to sniff out prostate cancer. Now that’s another reason that prove why they will remain our best friends!

Dogs have three-hundred million sensory receptors as against five-milion in humans. Their extraordinary sense of smell can detect the smallest of scents known to be linked to cancer instantly.

A charity, Medical Detection Dogs, is training specialist dogs to detect human diseases. Dr Claire Guest, its founder, says, what dogs are doing is actually revisiting a way in which diagnosis has been done centuries ago.

SIMPLE TEST CAN HELP DETECT ALZHEIMERS BEFORE DEMENTIA SIGNS SHOW

York University researchers say a simple test that combines thinking and movement can help to detect heightened risk for developing Alzheimer's disease in a person, even before there are any telltale behavioural signs of dementia

Faculty of Health Professor Lauren Sergio and PhD candidate Kara Hawkins who led the study asked the participants to complete four increasingly demanding visual-spatial and cognitive-motor tasks, on dual screen laptop computers. The test aimed at detecting the tendency for Alzheimer's in those who were having cognitive difficulty even though they were not showing outward signs of the disease.

"We included a task which involved moving a computer mouse in the opposite direction of a visual target on the screen, requiring the person's brain to think before and during their hand movements," says Sergio in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science. "This is where we found the most pronounced difference between those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and family history group and the two control groups."

Hawkins adds, "We know that really well-learned, stereotyped motor behaviours are preserved until very late in Alzheimer's disease." These include routine movements, such as walking. The disruption in communication will be evident when movements require the person to think about what it is they are trying to do.

For the test, the participants were divided into three groups -- those diagnosed with MCI or had a family history of Alzheimer's disease, and two control groups, young adults and older adults, without a family history of the disease.

The study, Visuomotor Impairments in Older Adults at Increased Alzheimer's Disease Risk, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, found that 81.8 per cent of the participants that had a family history of Alzheimer's disease and those with MCI displayed difficulties on the most cognitively demanding visual motor task.

"The brain's ability to take in visual and sensory information and transform that into physical movements requires communication between the parietal area at the back of the brain and the frontal regions," explains Sergio. "The impairments observed in the participants at increased risk of Alzheimer's disease may reflect inherent brain alteration or early neuropathology, which is disrupting reciprocal brain communication between hippocampal, parietal and frontal brain regions."

"In terms of being able to categorize the low Alzheimer's disease risk and the high Alzheimer's disease risk, we were able to do that quite well using these kinematic measures," says Hawkins. "This group had slower reaction time and movement time, as well as less accuracy and precision in their movements."

Hawkins says the findings don't predict who will develop Alzheimer's disease, but they do show there is something different in the brains of most of the participants diagnosed with MCI or who had a family history of the disease.