Oct 7, 2008 5:34 pm US/Eastern
New Sneaker Could Help Save Elderly From Falls
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Every year, millions of seniors suffer from falls, which can often lead to death.
"About a quarter of all seniors fall down which leads to about 300,000 hip fractures -- 30 percent of those cases will not live out the year," said Erez Lieberman, designer of the I-Shoe.
That's why he designed the I-Shoe to help determine whether someone is balancing properly.
He adapted state-of-the art technology, which he first came up with while interning at NASA. "I developed this artificial intelligence to identify if people are balancing well or not, in particular, astronauts, then I realized shortly after there's a much larger need among the elderly because of this epidemic."
Lieberman is working with other MIT students to test the new insole called I-Shoe, which has sensors built into it that can determine how well a person is balancing.
They're actually hoping to eventually develop an insole which can actually improve a person's balance.
"We learn all these things in the classroom and to be able to do something that might be able to help people is a great feeling," said Quian Yang of Harvard University.
The researchers say the I-Shoe should be available to the public within a few years. They're hoping that insurance companies will eventually cover the cost of the insoles, which are expected to cost about $100.
Lieberman's team received a $50,000 grant earlier this year to help pay for the startup costs for the project.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
