If this works it could make a huge difference in the lives of unsteady elders.
Falls are a huge risk for seniors and figuring out how to mitigate that risk and protect seniors’ freedom/quality of life is a tough thing. It is curious how senior communities have evolved on the walker, wheelchair, and motorized scooter issue over time. It wasn’t that long ago that senior communities treated walkers and other adaptive fall prevention devices as deep secrets that needed to hidden from the public and other residents. Thankfully this has changed and I talk to more and more community leaders who embrace and encourage the use of these devices. A couple of days ago I came across a really unique project that seems to hold great promise . . . maybe even substantially reduce the need for walkers and canes. The B-Shoe The Balance Shoe (B-Shoe) is being developed by a group in Israel to combat the increased risk of falls that come with aging. It consists of a shoe that contains motion sensors, a micro-processor, sophisticated algorithms that monitor a wearers walking pattern and a tractor device that is automatically activated if a wearer becomes unsteady on their feet. What it does is roll the foot back just slightly, restoring balance.
The shoe is still in development and the company is currently running a crowd funding campaign to raise additional development funds and increase awareness of their project. It appears the device is still at least two years from being available to the public. Lots of Challenges It is a cool concept but I see lots of challenges:
- It has a battery that will need to be recharged on a regular basis.
- The shoe looks like a monster in size so fashion may be a big issue here
- I sent the company an email asking if they have a projected cost and have not yet heard back, but the website has no information about cost and that makes me nervous
What do you think? Steve Moran
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There are no boundries for safety. Most elders living in long term care or assisted living have poor quality foot gear. If these shoes really prevent falls they should be selling like hot cakes and be worn by any one who wears shoes in long term and assisted living care. It sounds like it has great potential.
Thanks for bring this product to my attention!
Intriguing. This could be a great benefit for folk with Parkinson’s disease. I am curious what the sensation will be when it “roll(s) the foot back just slightly”. Wonder how it works in outdoor conditions, or if it is only for use on firm surfaces? Israel has some pretty brilliant engineers. I will be watching for more information – especially the results of trials with real elderly persons.
@Kathleen we already tested with real elderly persons 🙂
results are great, the sensation is a bit like “moonwalking”.
About Parkinson’s – we know the shoes could work for Parkinson’s patient but to test that clinically we need to complete some regulation processes so we’re waiting with that. That said, our team includes one of the leading neurologists specializing in Parkinson’s…and there’s a reason for that 🙂 we plan to offer the shoes to as wide a range of people as possible, not just healthy seniors.
I’m happy to see more companies addressing the needs of Seniors,and developing products to keep them safe.Hopefully,this shoe will keep people safe,while allowing them to maintain their dignity.
Looks like a very cool product – I am disappointed with their indiegogo incentives – I think if they would have offered better incentives more people would have donated. $100 for a call and 10% discount is not very attractive, $250 for a 20% discount is not very attractive either
I hope they reach their goal and move on and I hope the FDA does not get in their way
Steve – as always you are on the cutting edge and posting about very cool products as well as the latest trends
I look forward to seeing your blog in my inbox
Michael
@Michael Neuvirth – we did not reach our goal and yes 30k was a low figure. It was meant to give us some breathing space while we work on raising a much larger investment to be able to mass produce the shoes. This is also why our perks were so lame (yes we know…) – we could not yet give shoes as we don’t have them yet. We only have 3 pairs of testing prototypes so we had to give something that is completely virtual. We could have maybe given away t-shirts or wrist bands but we felt it would belittle the product and the issue of senior’s safety.
Also not sure why they are only raising 30K – does not seem like a very high number – maybe doing it for publicity
Thanks Steve for the post!
About the issues in the post:
the battery will need to be recharged indeed but we plan to make a mat (or other form of docking) that the shoes can be laid on at night to charge them 🙂
About the size – the shoes on the website and in the videos are the 3 pairs of testing prototypes. The mechanism right now is still a bit large and the shoes were made to the size of the people testing them (us and our team members, some friends etc.). The purpose of the investment the company seeks (larger than the sum we asked for indiegogo) is to be able to complete the testing and mass produce. This means that we also make everything much much smaller so it fits into the sole of any standard walking shoe – for both men and women 🙂
About the price – we apologize for not getting back to you (you can imagine how crazy it’s been with running the campaign and all) but we simply can’t tell yet. We know they probably won’t cost as a regular pair of shoes but depending on how we manufacture and where the price will change. We just don’t want to say that they will cost this amount or that amount just yet 🙂
sorry you did not reach your goal – but very cool of you to reply to my post