CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Diabetes, also known as Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a serious medical condition that occurs when the body becomes incapable of regulating blood sugar level. This results in several chronic complications to develop in the body, including the most prevalent Diabetic Neuropathies, along with vascular disease, slow healing and diminished response to infection over time (Brem, Sheehan & Boulton 2004). Due to severe damage of nerve cells throughout the body, diabetic patients lose their ability to sense over time, especially in the feet. Hence, their gaits on standing and during walking differ significantly from that of a normal person, causing high pressure points to develop under the feet.
Foot problems are serious consequence …show more content…
However, considering that more than half the world's population lives in an underprivileged state, it is very much essential to develop medical devices that are simple, robust and inexpensive. Thus, an Optical Sensor based Dynamic Pressure Measurement System, known as Dynamic Pedograph, was improvised and developed in 2009 at the University of Dhaka by the Department of Biomedical Physics & Technology, under the supervision of Dr. Khondkar Siddique-e Rabbani. The motivation and basis of the design came from the optical device developed by Sheffield University back in the 1980s. Although the device developed in the UK was never commercialized, due to the high promises it held, the ideas were used to manufacture Dynamic Pedograph that would be appropriate for developing countries. As an alternative means to assess the pressure distribution under the feet, the new device makes use of sensor, computer software and cheaper materials that are widely available and suitable for Third World …show more content…
Furthermore, since the apparent pressure recorded by the software is proportional to light intensities, it is expected that light intensity is uniform and consistent over the whole surface region. However, as it is not always possible from a manufacturing perspective to produce two products that are exact replicas of each other, some variation in the properties can always be readily seen. Likewise, since the arrays of the LEDs used in Dynamic Pedograph are not completely identical, some deviations would be expected along the horizontal and vertical direction of the Pedograph.
Therefore, the objective of this research is to design mechanical sensor systems:
1. To move constant mass at varying speed on top of the Pedograph’s optical sensor, and use the results to identify how the speed affects dynamic pressure distribution
HYPOTHESIS: With increased pacing, the air molecules between the white paper sheet and glass plate cannot get displaced effectively which affects the scattering of light and thus, the sensitivity of the
Diabetes, also known as Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a serious medical condition that occurs when the body becomes incapable of regulating blood sugar level. This results in several chronic complications to develop in the body, including the most prevalent Diabetic Neuropathies, along with vascular disease, slow healing and diminished response to infection over time (Brem, Sheehan & Boulton 2004). Due to severe damage of nerve cells throughout the body, diabetic patients lose their ability to sense over time, especially in the feet. Hence, their gaits on standing and during walking differ significantly from that of a normal person, causing high pressure points to develop under the feet.
Foot problems are serious consequence …show more content…
However, considering that more than half the world's population lives in an underprivileged state, it is very much essential to develop medical devices that are simple, robust and inexpensive. Thus, an Optical Sensor based Dynamic Pressure Measurement System, known as Dynamic Pedograph, was improvised and developed in 2009 at the University of Dhaka by the Department of Biomedical Physics & Technology, under the supervision of Dr. Khondkar Siddique-e Rabbani. The motivation and basis of the design came from the optical device developed by Sheffield University back in the 1980s. Although the device developed in the UK was never commercialized, due to the high promises it held, the ideas were used to manufacture Dynamic Pedograph that would be appropriate for developing countries. As an alternative means to assess the pressure distribution under the feet, the new device makes use of sensor, computer software and cheaper materials that are widely available and suitable for Third World …show more content…
Furthermore, since the apparent pressure recorded by the software is proportional to light intensities, it is expected that light intensity is uniform and consistent over the whole surface region. However, as it is not always possible from a manufacturing perspective to produce two products that are exact replicas of each other, some variation in the properties can always be readily seen. Likewise, since the arrays of the LEDs used in Dynamic Pedograph are not completely identical, some deviations would be expected along the horizontal and vertical direction of the Pedograph.
Therefore, the objective of this research is to design mechanical sensor systems:
1. To move constant mass at varying speed on top of the Pedograph’s optical sensor, and use the results to identify how the speed affects dynamic pressure distribution
HYPOTHESIS: With increased pacing, the air molecules between the white paper sheet and glass plate cannot get displaced effectively which affects the scattering of light and thus, the sensitivity of the