SOCKSESS
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Measurement of Foot Shear Stress for discriminating between patients with and without diabetic peripheral neuropathy
IRAS ID
338459
Contact name
Neil D. Reeves
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Lancaster University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 0 days
Research summary
Diabetes damages nerves in the feet, known as 'neuropathy', affecting up to half the population with diabetes. This complication of diabetes causes loss of sensation and increases the susceptibility to skin breakdown because of high levels of vertical pressure and shear stresses (i.e., a force that acts along an area of skin) to the feet. These factors predispose people with neuropathy to foot ulcers (holes in the skin), which may lead, if they become infected, to foot and leg amputations. Currently, there is no tool to assess shear stress (rubbing on the feet) in people with diabetes.
This project is testing a new way to measure shear stresses, by wearing custom socks in diabetic patients with and without impaired sensation during walking. Thirty diabetic patients with and without neuropathy will be recruited across Greater Manchester. Custom socks will consist of cotton/nylon and stretch sensors printed on different parts of socks (e.g., big toe, metatarsal heads) to measure shear stresses. In one single laboratory visit to the Manchester Metropolitan University, participants will be asked to wear the custom socks and perform a series of short walking trials (4x30sec, combined with rest periods), including level and inclined walking. We want to test if this approach can discriminate between people with and without loss of peripheral sensation and increase the knowledge of the factors (e.g., walking speed, etc.) affecting shear stress during walking.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/EM/0110
Date of REC Opinion
28 May 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion