Fall-prevention shoes
By using the same technology that helps astronauts regain balance after zero-gravity flights, scientists have discovered an insole that could prevent elderly people from falling, according to an
article on CNN.com.
The "iShoe," developed by Erez Lieberman, a graduate student who was an intern at NASA, is an insole that contains balance sensors to help signal fall warning signs. While it's not an alarm, the iShoe's six sensors will send out a signal if the person wearing it actually falls. It's comparable to a data recorder that a doctor or balance specialist can use to assess dangerous pressure patterns.
Lieberman and Katharine Forth, a visiting scientist at NASA who also works on the iShoe, say the iShoe insole can be slipped inside any shoe and would cost about $100.
But don't expect to see the iShoe at a retailer just yet. It's still being tested, and Lieberman and Forth are still perfecting the software that identifies the faulty pressure patterns.