Developed at a South Korean hospital, it was presented at the congress of the European Society of Cardiology. It contains a sensor for early and accurate detection of the damage to the nerves and blood vessels that is typical of diabetes.
One of the most feared consequences of diabetes, especially in patients with a long history of the illness and those who cannot effectively control their blood sugar levels, is damage to the nerves and blood vessels in the feet, which, for a variety of reasons, can lead to the development of ulcers. These, in turn, are prone to infections, which, in the worst of cases, if not properly treated, can give rise to gangrene, making it necessary to amputate the toes or, in the most severe cases, the entire foot.
Luckily, this negative chain of events can be prevented, but only if you can identify in a timely manner which patients have damage to their nerves and blood vessels and of what severity. That is why diabetics are asked to report symptoms such as a sensation of pins and needles or a loss of sensitivity, and have to undergo special tests, which can be costly and invasive. However, these “monitoring” systems could, in future, be assisted by a smart sock, which, in a completely harmless way, is able to identify which individuals are most at risk and direct them towards suitable preventative strategies.
This is what is being proposed by researchers at Chonnam National University Hospital in Gwangju, in South Korea, who presented the device, along with the data collected on a number of diabetic patients, at the congress of the European Society of Cardiology, which was held in Berlin.
A distinctive characteristic of people with diabetes: their gait
The sock takes advantage of a well-known trait of diabetics with neurovascular damage: the fact that, even without being aware of it themselves, these individuals have adopted a gait that is different from that of healthy people, meaning that they put their weight on the front part of their foot, on their toes. This characteristic can be identified using a “ballistocardiogram”, which detects, by means of a sensor in the sock itself, the motions of the body as the heart pumps blood. Diabetics have a distinctive trace, unlike that of non-diabetics and, specifically as a consequence of that different weight distribution, different needs in terms of oxygenated blood.
Once they had developed the sensor-equipped sock, the researchers in South Korea tested it on 20 people with diabetes and 20 healthy control subjects, recording two different types of measurements: 40 seconds while standing, and 40 seconds while walking. The participants simultaneously underwent a traditional electrocardiogram using a portable device, in order to assess the accuracy of the sock as a measurement tool.
First tests extremely promising
The sock passed its initial tests with flying colours: the data collected by its ballistogram sensor were found to be almost identical to those recorded using the more traditional device. What’s more, even the specific tests for diabetic feet met expectations, according to information from specific peripheral neuropathy assessment scales. The test was, in fact, able to distinguish the diabetics from the non-diabetics and, amongst the former, those who were already suffering from neurovascular damage from those who as yet displayed no effects of that sort.
If additional data, gathered from broader population samples, confirms the reliability of the sensor-equipped sock, preventative care for diabetic feet could improve. Over 500 million people worldwide are diabetic, and the incidence of this disease continues to rise.
