Sensors and apps designed for seniors and their caretakers may be able to detect when falls occur, but Dr. Yonatan Manor wanted to take that a step further.
He assembled a team of doctors and engineers to prototype a smart shoe that they think might be able to prevent falls when they’re about to occur.
The so-called B-Shoe is a walking shoe that incorporates pressure sensors, a microprocessor, an algorithm, a motion device and a rechargeable battery. When the sensor and algorithm detect imbalance, they prompt the motion device to perform a backward step to help the wearer regain balance. It operates only when imbalance is detected and is designed for use by seniors or by people who are injured, physically challenged, sick or in post-surgery recovery.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
According to the CDC, falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults.
B-Shoe Technologies, based at the hiCenter Business Incubator in Haifa, Israel, is in the prototype and testing phase of development. It’s about a third of the way to its $30,000 goal for its Indiegogo campaign that runs through February 10.
“We are currently seeking investment that will allow us to complete the regulation process, miniaturize the entire mechanism and start mass production,” the company writes on its website. “We estimate about two years for this to happen.”
[Image credit: B-Shoe Technologies]
