New ‘smart shoe’ could prevent the elderly from falling over – protecting their independence, and saving the NHS billions every year

A new shoe could help elderly people stay on their feet – and protect them against potentially fatal falls and stumbles. 

Previous figures released by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) revealed that falls are a major cause of disability – and the leading cause of death from injury – in people aged 75 and older in the UK.

They estimated that treating elderly people who have fallen over costs the NHS in excess of £2.3billion per year once all factors in their care and recovery – including social care, community, and acute hospital care – in the 12 months following have been factored in. 

Until now, there has been little in the way of fall prevention but an engineer from the University of Bristol hopes his new invention could help frail members of society stay on their feet.  

His invention is a pair of ‘smart shoes’ which can gather data to help carers and doctors to prevent an accident.

The shoes were invented by Dr Jiayang Li, a lecturer in electrical engineering at the University of Bristol, after he noticed his 89-year-old mentor, Peter Langlois, was unsteady on his feet.  

The shoes feature a built-in insole with hundreds of tiny sensors which provide lab-quality, real-time data about the wearer’s gait, which can be displayed on a tablet or mobile phone.  

The data gathered is used to generate images of the person’s foot, highlighting pressure points and assessing whether they are walking in a balanced way or in danger of falling. 

 People aged 65 and older have the highest risk of falling with around half of people aged 80 and over falling at least once a year.

‘Peter has been a huge champion of my work since I started my PhD and it’s amazing that he still meticulously edits the research papers of my research group even at the age of 89,’ Dr Li told The Independent.

‘One day, I noticed he was unsteady on his feet and almost lost his balance. 

‘It got me thinking this is very risky and could have terrible consequences if it resulted in a fall, especially for people who live alone.

‘Then I wondered if the semiconductor technology we’re working on might actually be able to help.’

Dr Li drew on his previous work developing advanced sensors to more accurately measure people’s lung function and pinpoint how their breathing is restricted. 

‘I realised we could apply similar techniques to monitor how well people are walking,’ he said.  

This involved creating an advanced microchip – also known as a semiconductor – to read all 253 of the tiny sensors on the shoe sole simultaneously. 

To make the device user-friendly, it runs on a low-voltage battery so it can be powered by small screen devices, including a mobile phone or even a smart watch. 

‘Fall prevention is a huge challenge for ageing populations, so the potential to anticipate and avoid that happening with our invention is really exciting,’ he said. 

‘When I explained the concept to Peter, he was really touched and is pleased it might one day be manufactured and used to help so many people.’

The design comes shortly after it was revealed that thousands of scheduled joint replacement operations would be cancelled due to a global shortage of bone cement. 

It was revealed on Wednesday morning that the NHS’s main supplier of bone cement – an ingredient crucial to the procedure – has suffered a ‘critical machine failure’, resulting in a global shortage. 

There is now just one week of supply left. Currently, there are 850,000 patients in England waiting for joint replacement surgery.

Hospitals have been instructed to prioritise emergency cases and cancel appointments of patients who are scheduled for surgery over the next two months. 

However, experts have warned this is a best case scenario and it is currently unclear when the issue will be resolved. Some have even said the disruption will lead to Covid-era wait times.