Footwear for Low Income Regions all Together
Offloading project for Diabetic Foot Ulcers in Low-Middle Income Countries (LMICs)– a project of the FLIRT study group belonging to the D-Foot International.
Therapeutic footwear is essential for keeping diabetic foot ulcers under control and preventing new ones from developing.
The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of shoes (test) versus the empirical offloading local solutions (control) utilized in Low Income Countries for patients with an active forefoot ulcer. The offloading efficacy of this device will be evaluated, clinically, in terms of ulcer healing parameters and amputation rates between the treated group vs. the control group.
FLIRT-Bird’s objective is to provide low-cost, long-lasting, fit-for-purpose footwear to diabetes patients all over the world regardless of their ability to pay. Research shows that footwear can prevent ulcers and lower-limb amputations.
Flirt-Bird’s goals are to identify standard specifications for therapeutic footwear, train people to manufacture footwear from local materials and create awareness of the value of the footwear for the diabetes patient.
The first project of its kind has been done in four low- and middle-income countries as follows: TIPS Study
Chairman of the FLIRT project:
Prof. Luigi Uccioli, Dept of BioMedicine and Prevention, Rome, Italy
Lead Facilitators: (TIPS Study)
- Tanzania (T): Dr Zulfiqarali G Abbas
- India (I): Dr Vijay Viswanathan
- Pakistan (P): Dr Zahid Miyan
- Senegal (S): Prof. Maimouna Ndour Mbaye