Date of Award

2011-01-01

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Electrical Engineering

Advisor(s)

Thompson Sarkodie-Gyan

Abstract

Currently in America 1 out of every 10 residents suffers from diabetes, and this tendency is likely to grow up to "1 of every 3" by the year [6]. Diabetes exhibits several complications. In 2005, the lead cause of stroke and heart disease was diabetes, 68% of the cases [1]. In 2008, 44% of kidney failure was associated with diabetes [1]. 60 to 70 % of cases of diabetes have a mild to severe nervous system damage [1]. Diabetic patients who have developed peripheral neuropathy tend to also develop foot ulceration. In an advanced stage a foot ulcer can lead to limb amputation. More than 60% of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations occur in people with diabetes [1].

There is a great need to develop efficient and reliable measurements for foot ulceration. By the use of novel sensory techniques [19], this study has provided an efficient and reliable measurement for foot ulceration that will lead to sensory feedback for brain plasticity. This study used an instrumental treadmill from Bertech®, a Delsys® surface Electromyograph, an insole system from Teck-scan®, to monitor the conditions of the diabetic foot by measuring the Foot Pressure, electrical activities of the muscles (EMG), and the ground reaction forces (GRF). The ultimate goal of the study was to provide accurate and reliable information to medical doctors for an early diagnosis to improve the quality of life of the diabetic patients.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

91 pages

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Oscar Alonso Espino

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