The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : For diabetics, special footwear in offing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 24, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

For diabetics, special footwear in offing

M. Dinesh Varma

Harvard to be roped in to design customised shoes

CHENNAI : The Diabetes Research Centre at the MV Hospital for Diabetes Research Centre plans to enter into collaborative research with the Harvard Medical School, Boston, U.S. to design and develop improved footwear for diabetes patients who are at high risk for amputation.

The proposal is an offshoot of the interaction the two institutions have shared since 2003 to sensitise doctors and nurses on diabetic foot complications, its treatment and prevention. Around 900 medics/paramedics have benefited from the last two Indo-U.S. workshops while the third edition commences here on Friday. "But even as we explore newer footwear technologies it is important not to lose focus of the larger obligation of prevention through education among physicians and patients," said David Campbell, vascular surgeon and associate clinical professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Campbell, who played a role in sensitising doctors and patients in the U.S. about management of diabetic complications, is heading a team for the workshop.

He was also instrumental in establishing the Harvard Vietnam Medical Education Program in Ho Chi Minh city where diabetes-related amputation rates have dropped since the programme began in 2000.

According to Vijay Viswanathan, joint director, MV Hospital for Diabetes, awareness and affordability are important factors that determine the use of protective footwear among diabetes patients.

Though a simple running shoe is good enough for most diabetes patients, highly customised footwear is be required for patients who have already developed foot deformities.

The industry for orthotic devices, ranging from a custom-moulded footpad to a heel insert, is not geared to the meet the special requirements of patients with diabetic feet. The proposed research project is expected to address this lacuna as well as make the products more affordable, said Dr. Viswanathan.

Diabetic foot amputations are largely preventable with awareness and proper care, but the rate of amputations is high in India, which has an estimated 30 million patients. One of the aims of the Indo-U.S. collaborative workshops on diabetic foot care is to encourage diabetologists to start diabetic foot clinics.

Experts from the U.S. are also looking to these interactive sessions to develop healthcare interventions that will help reduce amputations in developing countries.

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