Oxygen releasing insole helps to treat diabetic foot ulcers

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Purdue University researchers have developed a shoe insole that delivers oxygen to diabetic foot ulcers, an advance that could help prevent amputation to affected toes, feet and legs..

Purdue University researchers have developed a shoe insole that delivers oxygen to diabetic foot ulcers, an advance that could help prevent amputation to affected toes, feet and legs.

A diabetic's ulcers can heal throughout the day by wearing this silicone-based rubber insole. (Purdue University image/Kayla Wiles)

In the US, around 15 per cent of people with diabetes develop foot ulcers, which can go unnoticed until they bleed.

"One of the ways to heal these wounds is by giving them oxygen," said Babak Ziaie, Purdue professor of electrical and computer engineering. "We've created a system that gradually releases oxygen throughout the day so that a patient can have more mobility."

According to Purdue, diabetic ulcers commonly result from high blood sugar damaging nerves, which numbs feeling in the toes or feet.

Without the ability to feel pain, hits and bumps tend to go unnoticed and skin tissue breaks down, forming ulcers. A lot of sugar in the bloodstream, along with dried skin as a consequence of diabetes, further slow the ulcer healing process.

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