Queensland Research Centre for Peripheral Vascular Disease Get Involved COMFITE

COMFITE

Protecting your feet is critical to preventing diabetes foot complications e.g. ulcerations and amputations. One way to protect your feet is wearing pressure-relieving footwear. It is believed that custom-made footwear (i.e. footwear custom-made to your feet using a 3D foot scan) may provide a greater pressure relieving effect compared to other forms of footwear.

To test this, the Queensland Research Centre for Peripheral Vascular Disease is conducting a study called “an evaluation of CustOM-made oFfloadIng footwear accepTability and adherencE, also called THE COMFITE STUDY”. This study seeks to investigate the pressure reduction capability of custom-made footwear (i.e. footwear custom-made to your feet using a 3D foot scan) and to assess the participants’ acceptability of custom-made footwear.

If you are interested and would like to participate and receive a pair of shoes made based on a 3D scan of your feet in a design that you like, talk to your health care professional and ask to be referred.

Recruitment StatusRecruiting
Sites Recruiting Townsville
Ethics Approval 60874

There are over 1.2 Million Australian adults aged 18 years living with diabetes. This figure is expected to double by the year 2040. A substantial proportion of people with diabetes will develop diabetes-associated foot disease (DFD). DFD describes a cluster of foot complications (e.g. ulcers, infections) secondary to diabetes that result from peripheral neuropathy (reduced sensation of feeling in the foot) and peripheral artery disease (reduced blood flow to the feet and legs). DFD is associated with poor outcomes for people living in regional, remote and Indigenous populations. Specifically, the rate of limb amputation is more than 5-fold higher in this group of people than residents of capital cities. DFD is a top ten global cause of disability and a top 20 cause of hospitalisation in Australia. Current models of care for DFD focus on treating patients once they have developed a complication such as an ulcer, infection or gangrene and currently a national prevention program does not exist.

More Information about for people with DFD or clinicians who treat DFD can be found at Diabetic Feet Australia.

People with diabetic foot disease can participate with this study by contacting the QRCPVD and requesting a study pack.