Student's Work Will Fend off Falls
Ian Welch developed shoes that help prevent falls.
Elderly and frail people may be saved from falls and serious injuries, thanks to Ian Welch, a master's candidate from Tigard, Ore. Welch has worked closely with Corinne Lengsfeld, associate professor of engineering, and Rahmat Shoureshi, dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science, to create sensors that patients can wear in their shoes. A patent is already pending for the new technology.
How they work
The sensors are mounted on a paper-thin pad that's placed inside the sole of modified shoes. They gather data about the wearer such as weight distribution and gait, and then send it to researchers via radio waves.
The sensors' radio transmitters, computer memory and other electronics are all hidden inside the soles of the special shoes. Users are barely aware of the sensors, if they feel them at all, Welch says. In the future, the team hopes, the entire device will fit in an insole that wearers can slip into any shoes they like.
Doctors could use the information they get from the shoe sensors to help patients understand how to distribute their weight and control their gait to avoid falls. Shoureshi says eventually the sensors could transmit data to a real-time warning system that would alert patients if they were losing balance or about to fall.
The potential uses for the shoe sensors are unlimited, Welch says. Doctors may use them to monitor diabetics who suffer circulatory problems in their feet. The system could alert doctors about excess fluid buildup in a patient's feet before dangerous ulcerations develop. Someday, the sensors may help athletes train effectively, or even teach injured patients how to walk again.
Faculty guidance in a new direction
Medical device engineering isn't the career path Welch imagined for himself, he says.
But through mentoring and collaboration, DU faculty members showed him what his research could accomplish.
The sensor idea first started as a senior project for Welch and other undergraduates. But when Welch received his bachelor's degree in 2005, he wasn't ready to give up his research. Instead, he offered to work on the design for free at DU over the summer.
Lengsfeld says she saw that Welch was on to something. She offered him a full-time research job, if he agreed to continue at DU and earn his master's degree. Welch says he couldn't pass up the opportunity to continue his work and team up with professors.
After he completes his master's degree in electrical engineering in August 2007, Welch plans to start a private business. The company will work closely with DU to develop commercial uses for the sensors.
"I'm very lucky," Welch says. "I've been given a great opportunity."
Published on July 9, 2007