PRESENTED BY, DENISH C PATEL DAVE MAITRI H. NAYAK HELI H. VORA ANUSHREE M.

ABSTRACT:
Neuropathic foot exerciser is an electronic foot massager with acupressure effect. Generally different therapies are used to cure the Neuropathic disorders such as allopathic, acupressure, electrotherapy etc. Basically, Neuropathic foot exerciser is based on different techniques such as: Heat & cold technique using DC motor; AC relay mechanism; Magnetic coil phenomenon; Automatic software operated unit; Vibration method using motor; Infrared heat source etc. In project, the foot exerciser is combination of electrotherapy & acupressure based technique. The instrument is having combination of three techniques magnetic coil phenomenon, vibration method using motor & infrared heat sourc

INTRODUCTION:

Neuropathy means damage of nerve fibers in people with diabetes. High blood glucose changes the metabolism of nerve cells and causes reduced blood flow to the nerve. There are different types of nerves in the body. These can be grouped as:

Sensory (detect sensation such as heat, cold, pain) Motor (contract muscles to control movement) Autonomic (regulate functions we cannot control directly, such as heart rate and digestion)

The most common type of diabetic neuropathy affects the nerves in the legs and is usually known as peripheral neuropathy. This is the type of neuropathy that causes foot problems. It affects mainly the sensory nerves although the motor and autonomic nerves can also be involved with important consequences. Neuropathy can result in two sets of what superficially appear to be contradictory problems. Most patients who have neuropathy have one of these problems but some can be affected by both. 1. Loss of ability to feel pain and other sensation, which leads to Neuropathic ulceration. 2. Symptoms of pain, burning, pins and needles or numbness, which lead to discomfort. 3. Patients with neuropathy lose their sensation of pain. As a result, they exert a lot of pressure at one spot under the foot when they walk, building up a callus at that site without causing discomfort. The pressure becomes so high that eventually it causes breakdown of tissues and ulceration. The patient hardly notices any pain.

BLOCK DIAGRAM:

1. POWER SUPPLY:
This unit provides 15-volt supply through step down transformer. This AC voltage is given to the rectifier circuit, which is used to convert the AC voltage into DC voltage. And this DC voltage is given to the all other parts of the circuitry.

2. VOLTAGE REGULATORY CIRCUIT:

2

This circuit provides a varying voltage ranges from 9 voltage to 18 voltage which is then given to the MOSFET which is used to control the voltage. These varying voltages are given to the control panel circuit

3. OUTPUT STAGE CIRCUITRY:

We can obtain three different treatments as an output according to the different switching mechanisms. Output stage consists of timer circuit in which 556 timer is used to produces the pulses of 6v given to the gate circuit followed by SCR used for switching purpose. This circuit produces pulses of 6v each with 10 second time delay. So 3 treatments can be switched on and off after each 10 second delay.

1. IR SOURCE: The voltages from the rectifier circuit is given to the different infrared LEDs which is located on the middle portion of the foot platform as shown in fig. When the sliding switch is connected to the second terminal, the voltage is given to the 4th and 5th ON-OFF switch, which causes the LEDs to glow. Using I.R. source it is possible to apply heat treatment by producing heat using this light source. The heaters (led source) in these IR Systems emit about one-third of their output in the middle infrared band, from 2 - 5.6 microns, for superdeep penetration and the other two-thirds in the long band, from 5.6 - 25 microns with that part of the output evenly spread around the 9.4 micron pivot point of peak human output. 2. VIBRATION:

For vibrating mechanism the 12 volt DC motor is used which is located between left & right foot such that vibration distributed equally to both foot & also to all the power points of foot pad .To achieve vibration, the spiral cut metallic part is connected to the one end of the DC motor. 3. MAGNETIC THERAPY: When the sliding switch is connected to the 3 rd terminal, the EMF is induced in the footpad through the inducting wires, which is oscillated along its own axis, results in magnetisation.

CONTROL PANEL:
The control panel includes the on off switches for selecting the various treatments and sliding switch for keeping one treatment at time.

TYPES OF TREATMENTS: 1) Infrared source:

Most LED devices require 30 minutes twice a day to help tissue that is beneath the skin. Light in the red and near-infrared wavelengths immediately relieves pain and heals tissue. Radiant heat helps with sprains, strains, arthritis, muscle spasm and pain. If you are an athlete, this IR Thermal System is all good news. It allows oxygen to be repaid more quickly. That's likely to lead to improved and quicker healing of sprains and muscle pain for patient. The heaters (led source) in these IR Systems emit about one-third of their output in the middle infrared band, from 2 - 5.6 microns, for super-deep penetration and the other two-thirds in the long band, from 5.6 - 25 microns with that part of the output evenly spread around the 9.4 micron pivot point of peak human output. This distribution maximizes the higher penetration of the middle-band waves and combines them with the long waves that produce a resonant absorption amplification.

Fig. Infrared thermal system area of foot pad. Infrared Thermal System : It uses infrared radiant energy to directly penetrate the body's tissues to a depth of over 1 1/2". Its energy output is tuned to correspond so closely to the body's own radiant energy that our bodies absorb close to 93% of the infrared waves that reach our skin. The Infrared Thermal System makes it possible for people in wheelchairs, or those who are otherwise unable to exert themselves or who won't follow through on an exercising and conditioning program to achieve a cardiovascular training effect. This also allows for more variety in any ongoing training program. Due to the deep penetration, over 1 1/2 inches into the skin, of the infrared rays generated by these IR Thermal Systems, there is a heating effect deep in the muscular tissues. An Infrared Thermal System can, thus, play a pivotal role in both weight control and cardiovascular conditioning. This would be easily valuable for those who don't exercise and those who can't exercise yet want an effective weight control and fitness maintenance program and the benefits that regular exercise can contribute to such a program. Dark skin requires more time, but also experiences more heat in the skin. 4 Joules of energy (J) applied to each 1 cm by 1 cm area (1 cm^2) per day is the best dosage for healing, but that is for injured cells that are directly exposed to the light. Before light can reach injured tissue that is beneath the skin, it must pass through skin and other tissue that greatly reduces the light intensity. It may be reduced by a factor 10 just below the skin to a factor of 50 when 1/2 inches beneath the skin. If the light is reduced by a factor of 10, then application time must be increased by the same factor of 10. This would be almost 15 minutes to get 4 J/cm^2 beneath the skin. MUSCULOSKELETALCASES: using Infrared treatments, following disorders can be solved.

Traumatic Arthritis Brain contusion-accelerated healing Tight Shoulders -relaxed Compression Fracture-Example: pain stopped for 3 days with single treatment. Spinal Cord Shock-posttraumatic shock reversed Muscle Tension-relaxed Post-exercise Muscle Pain- vital to competitive athletes Shoulder Pain-Relieved or eliminated Muscle Spasms-reduced or eliminated Low Back Pain-relieved Adhesions - lengthened or more easily broken; they are common in competitive athletes. This thermal treatment results in following desirable therapeutic effects: 1) It increases the extensibility of collagen tissues. 2) It decreases joint stiffness directly. 3) It relieves muscle spasms. 4) It responds well to the increased peripheral dilation associated with IR application: 5) It produces pain relief. Heat has been shown to reduce pain sensation by direct action on both free-nerve endings in tissues and on peripheral nerves. 6) Increases blood flow. Heating of one area of the body produces reflex-modulated vasodilation in distant-body areas, even in the absence of a change in core body temperature; Heating of muscles produces an increased blood flow level similar to that seen during exercise. Temperature elevation produces an increase in blood flow and dilation directly in capillaries, arterioles and venules, probably through direct action on their smooth muscles.

2) MAGNETIC THERAPY:
Magnetic therapy utilizes the natural energy of magnetism that are important to human existence and over all health. Human beings posses complex bio-electromagnetic systems while all electric system also contain magnetic fields. It provides a natural way to assist the body as it passes through all the tissues & cells. The outer surface of each nerve cell carries the positive charge while the interior of the cell carries negative charge. In case of pain the positively charged cell membrane is supplied with more potassium by blood, thereby increasing the positive charge. Hence a power full current flows through the cerebral neurones which register the event as pain. If

the sight of pain is exposed to magnetic filed, the different charges are neutralized, the current flow declines and pain is alleviated. Magnetism is very effective for healing and restoring the natural balance of the body. This helps to bring a normal charge back to each body cell by increasing cellular oxygen and by restoring PH balance. A use of emf helps the body in healing process. Blood flow increases under the effect of magnetic field. The application of magnets has being use to relief the pain with the ratio of 75%. This therapy is less expensive and lacks the dangerous side effects often associated with prescribed drugs however it should not be use if the pacemaker or defibrillator is worn. Treatment with magnet is not addictive and dose not interferes with other therapies. The magnetic field therapy rebalances, altered metabolic functions that cause pain, oedema, excess acid in tissue and lack of oxygen in cells, thereby initiating tissue healing and pain relief. Joint mobility increases and muscles become more flexible. Digestion improves, energy levels go up and sleep is better.

3) Vibration:
Small, simple DC motors (a made up name) are the little can motors found in many consumer electronics products. Cell phone vibrators, mechanized toys, CD tray ejectors, etc. all contain little DC motors. To use them you simply hook up an appropriate DC voltage source (usually 3-12v) to the two terminals. They tend to spin very quickly, which maybe be good or bad, depending on your application. Their speed can be controlled (within a fairly small range) by varying the source voltage, but performance (torque) will suffer at lower voltages. To create vibrating mechanism, a small metallic shaft in spiral cut is used to connect at the one end of the motor which will rotate along its axis thereby producing vibration. Fig. Dc motor connected between the both foot, locatd exactly at centre behind the foot pad

Connection of motor: Hookup: Just connect the +/- of your power supply/battery to the terminals of the motor. Reversing polarity will reverse the direction of the motor. Identification: Generally a small steel can with two thin hookup wires and a thin shaft. May have voltage information or manufacturer data on the side of the can.

A spiral cut metallic shaft is connected to one end of motor.so when the supply voltage is given to motor, the shaft is rotated according to the variable voltages and the vibration is achieved as per the magnitude of voltage.

Fig. Different points on foot showing a region of treatment to be applied.

FN3082.4

The timing period is triggered (started) when the trigger input (555 pin 2) is less than 1/3 Vs, this makes the output high (+Vs) and the capacitor C1 starts to charge through resistor R1. Once the time period has started further trigger pulses are ignored. The threshold input (555 pin 6) monitors the voltage across C1 and when this reaches 2/3 Vs the time period is over and the output becomes low. At the same time discharge (555 pin 7) is connected to 0V, discharging the capacitor ready for the next trigger. The reset input (555 pin 4) overrides all other inputs and the timing may be cancelled at any time by connecting reset to 0V, this instantly makes the output low and discharges the capacitor.

APPLICATION:
For three types of treatment, foot platform is being specially designed. 1. I.R. To increase the blood circulation 2. E.M.F. - For healing of bones, nerves etc. In the blood the level of irons will get increased. 3. Vibration To stimulate the nerves on various power points on human foot.

Normal sweat secretion and oil production that lubricates the skin of the foot is impaired. These factors together can lead to abnormal pressure on the skin, bones, and joints of the foot during walking and can lead to breakdown of the skin of the foot. This unit can also be utilized for obese patients to enhance the blood circulation. It can also be applied in sciatica. When diabetes is not well controlled, damage to the organs and impairment of the immune system is likely. Foot problems like sensation loss, ulceration, hypotonic muscles etc. This is the unit, which not only controls the diabetes but also removes the diabetic disorders and cures the diabetic disorders by prolonged use of this exerciser.

CONCLUSION:
This unit provides three different treatments (magnetic therapy, infrared therapy and vibration therapy) with two of the treatments simultaneously, which was being difficult to put forward firstly. Then the task was being fulfilled by designing the foot platform. Yet to serve this unit as a domestic use was difficult due to its cumbersome design. Hence the project is being done manually (using switches) and automatically ( using timer and controller). This unit helps to relieve diabetes from the patients after prolonged use of this exerciser. This unit is also used in obese patients to enhance the blood circulation and release the calories. The future aspect of this unit is to develop BIOFEEDBACK system which continuously monitor physiological changes in patient and also measurement of calorie loss after particular period of time can be added. Thus it is simple to operate and can be used for domestic purposes.