The first sock measuring shear stress aimed at reducing the risk of foot ulcers for patients with diabetes is among several innovations being developed by Lancaster University.
The sock contains smart sensors to measure friction and alongside a foot screening app powered by AI is among several innovations currently being developed by Neil Reeves, Professor of Secure Health Technologies at Lancaster Medical School, to improve the lives of patients with diabetes.
Professor Reeves said: "We have developed several innovations based on digital technology which enable patients with diabetes to improve their quality of life and to better manage their condition, while reducing the burden on the NHS.
"Digital technological solutions, particularly for diabetes are rapidly emerging and promise to have a transformative impact on how our health service operates now and into the future."
Half the annual cost of the NHS is spent treating diabetes complications, with one in four foot ulcers leading to amputation of all or part of the lower leg.
Professor Reeves leads the EPSRC-funded "Socksess" project to develop socks with embedded sensors to help prevent diabetic foot ulcers. Providing foot pressure feedback to the patient has been shown to reduce diabetic foot ulcer incidence by over 70%.
The project has now completed trials with diabetes patients and there is commercial interest from, a private digital health company working in partnership with the NHS.
With Professor Moi Hoon Yap of Manchester Metropolitan University, Professor Reeves has also co-developed an app called FootSnap-AI which uses computer vision technology to identify a foot ulcer at various stages of development.
Both Professor Reeves and Professor Yap have been awarded the Oracle Innovator Accelerator Grant to scale-up and translate this towards clinical practice with industry partners.
FootSnap AI has now been deployed as part of a research study at hospitals across Salford Royal NHS Trust, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Manchester University NHS Trust with the help of the digital healthcare company Aire Logic.
Professor Reeves's research also underpins Feetsee, a digital medical device currently available to patients which is designed to be used at home to monitor the temperature of the soles of the foot. This helps to detect early signs of inflammation preventing foot ulcers and is currently being trialled as part of a European-funded research study at hospitals in Manchester and Blackpool.
He has also discovered that vibrating insoles in shoes can help improve gait and balance in people with diabetes. Because of peripheral nerve damage causing problems with balance, people with diabetes are up to 20-times more likely to fall compared to someone without diabetes.
His research demonstrated that wearing vibrating insoles for only ten minutes improved walking quality to the same level as after six months of strenuous exercise training. This research is also of relevance for an ageing population.
Healthcare technologies are central to the digital transformation promised by the NHS 10-Year Health Plan announced in January 2025, moving from "hospital to community; sickness to prevention; and analogue to digital."
Digital technological solutions, particularly for diabetes, are rapidly emerging and promise to have a transformative impact on how our health service operates now and into the future.
