Designing insoles that reduce pressure where it matters

Background

Anyone working in diabetic foot care knows how important pressure relief is in preventing foot ulcers. Increased pressure under the foot plays a clear role, especially in people with neuropathy, vascular problems or foot deformities. Footwear and insoles can reduce that risk, but in practice both effectiveness and adherence vary.

This raises an important question: how can insoles be designed in a way that reduces pressure more effectively while also fitting the individual foot better?

This project focuses on that question. Niloofar Sedighi, PhD candidate at Glasgow Caledonian University, investigates how custom-made insoles can be designed and tested more precisely using digital design methods and 3D-printing techniques. The aim is to create insoles that provide better offloading and can be tailored more accurately to the individual patient.

Approach

Within this project, new insoles are explored, designed, produced and tested for people with diabetes at moderate to high risk of foot ulceration. This is done using computer-aided design and manufacturing, combined with additive manufacturing, or 3D printing.

At the heart of the research is the comparison between current designs and optimized designs. The project looks at in-shoe pressure as well as usability. In this way, it examines not only whether an insole performs well technically, but also whether it works well in practice.

An important part of the project is the development of new design guidelines. 3D printing makes it possible to design much more freely than traditional manufacturing methods. As a result, the shape, structure and properties of an insole can be tailored more precisely to the individual patient. Sedighi investigates how these design possibilities can be used to further improve pressure relief.

The final designs are also clinically validated. This makes it possible to test whether the new insoles actually lead to better pressure distribution and whether they are sufficiently usable in daily life. The project therefore combines design, production and clinical testing in a single process.

From insight to better-aligned care

The strength of this project lies in the combination of biomechanics, digital technology and practical usability. Insoles are widely used in care, but it is not always clear which design is most suitable for which foot. This research aims to provide more direction.

If it becomes clearer which designs reduce harmful pressure most effectively while remaining usable in daily life, this can help make decisions about insoles better substantiated. It may also contribute to a more reproducible way of working, in which design choices are based not only on experience, but also on measurements and systematically tested designs.

In this way, the project aims to contribute to personalized insoles that provide better protection against harmful pressure and can therefore help prevent foot ulcers and amputations.

Research Team

The project is carried out at Glasgow Caledonian University within the Musculoskeletal Health Research Group. This interdisciplinary research group brings together healthcare professionals, movement scientists and engineers, and works at the intersection of health, biomechanics and technology.

The project also involves collaboration with partners who contribute different types of expertise. At the Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli in Bologna, the focus is on biomechanically driven CAD design and early prototype development. At Amsterdam UMC, the focus is on orthotic design, current standard care and the clinical pathway from prescription to delivery. Taika3D in Finland contributes industrial expertise in the automation of insole design and additive manufacturing.

This combination of clinical, technical and industrial knowledge makes it possible not only to create new designs, but also to investigate how they can be used in practice.

Glasgow Caledonian University

Glasgow Caledonian University is a modern Scottish university with a strong focus on applied research and societal impact. In health research, it is among the best-performing modern universities in Scotland.

For this project, GCU provides access to laboratories for movement analysis, mechanical testing, 3D printing and materials research, as well as CAD/CAM systems and software for design and analysis. This creates a strong research environment for the development and evaluation of new insole designs.