Researchers in Switzerland have stuffed a bunch of chips and sensors into socks to help people who suffer from some of the worst symptoms of diabetes – chronic pain and a loss of sensation in the feet.
The Leia smart sock uses non-invasive electrical pulses to provide customized therapy by stimulating specific nerve strands and restoring sensation in the feet. It could potentially negate the need for the strong painkillers that are typically used to treat this condition, while enabling more confident mobility.
About half of the world’s 560 million diabetes patients suffer from diabetic neuropathy, in which damage in the calf nerve prevents sensations from the foot getting to the brain. That makes it hard to walk and increases the risk of falling. Having seen it affect some of my family members, I recall how it also caused them to simply avoid getting up or walking, rendering them a lot less mobile than before.
Michel Büchel / ETH Zurich
The team at Mynerva, a spinoff company from ETH Zurich, has developed a way to address this with smart textiles and AI processing, over the past five years. The Leia sock has pressure sensors on the sole to map pressure distribution while you walk; an ultra compact computer in the sock shaft converts that into electrical signals. Finally, electrodes sewn into the fabric send signals from the pressure map directly to healthy, functioning parts of the wearer’s nerves, allowing them to feel the ground beneath them and alleviating neuropathic pain.
Mynerva
That should make it easier for wearers to notice pressure points each time they take a step, and to feel more secure as they walk. Greater feedback from the nerve stimulation could also prevent missteps and accidental tumbles. You can see the tech in action below.
Smart socks that alleviate pain
Leia isn’t on the market yet. The team has scheduled a long-term study in the coming months to determine if the Leia sock can help improve patients’ gait enough to prevent issues like foot ulcers, and if it can partially restore nerve function. The product is designed for daily use, so it will likely benefit from being tested rigorously to see how each sock holds up over weeks and months.
Mynerva
Mynerva has landed an award that will cover the cost of filing patents for the Leia sock, and for getting approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to go commercial, so it’s on track to soft launch in 2027. If the company can pull it off, it could mean that people with diabetes will have a much easier time on their feet in the near future.
Check out the Leia sock over on Mynerva’s site, where you can sign up to receive updates on the device.
Source: ETH Zurich
