Development of shoe insert for Diabetic Foot Ulcer Patients in case of Ethiopia

Abstract

Foot ulcer is mainly developing due to diabetic disease. It is an open sore on the foot. The aim of this research is to develop polyurethane memory foam in sock/shoe insert in Ethiopia by replacing costly material silicon surfactant by locally available and affordable input materials castor oil as surfactant and tap water instead of distilled water for the diabetic foot ulcer patients. Under this research, it was able to prove the severity of foot ulcer in Ethiopia and enhance the high demand of orthotic appliance. Three memory foams in sock with different surfactant ratios were manufacture at AMAGA P.L.C foam factory, Bahir Dar Ethiopia using standard Polyols and diisocynates. The shoe insert /in sock was prepared by using materials used in the factory to prepare polyurethane (PU) memory foam mattress with 5g, 9.5 g and 10.36g of castor oil surfactant amount as a new replaced material instead of costly silicon surfactant from the three the first (castor oil 5g is not form a foam and hence no further investigation is conducted on it). Physical properties such as thickness, density, hardness, compression set, water absorption and abrasion resistance of developed in sock were tested. Further the new developed in sock was compared with that of existed commercial polyurethane in sock and the SATRA standards. The new developed in sock has showed an equivalent mechanical property with the standard.