ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Biomechanics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1694935
Finite Element Analysis-Based Design and Efficacy Assessment of a Three-Dimensional Anisotropic Heel Cushioning Pad for Diabetic Foot Management
Provisionally accepted
- 1The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, China
- 2The Key Laboratory of Digital Orthopedics of Yunnan Province, Kunming, China
- 3The Affiliated Hospital of Yunnan University, Kunming, China
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Background: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a common complication of diabetic patients, which can lead to lower limb amputation in severe cases, and seriously impair the patient's mobility and even endanger life. Plantar insoles aim to redistribute pressure, yet diabetic foot tissues exhibit altered material properties, necessitating a novel approach to address vertical pressures and shear forces. This study sought to design a three-dimensional anisotropic heel cushioning pad that mitigates both vertical pressure and anteroposterior/mediolateral (AP/ML) shear forces. Methods: CT data of the foot were collected and stored in DICOM format. We reconstructed foot model and simulated heel cushioning pad with varying elastic moduli in compressive, AP-shear and ML-shear directions. We employed finite element analysis (FEA) to assess the impact of these moduli on peak stresses under various loading conditions. The data were fitted by polynomial, and a regression equation was obtained. Results: Reducing the elastic moduli of heel cushioning pad led to decreased peak stresses across all directions. Notably, the peak compressive stress dropped by 52.20%-66.91%, while AP and ML shear stresses fell by 51.05%-75.58% and 54.16%-72.42%, respectively. Polynomial analyses revealed optimal stress reductions within specific elastic modulus ranges (400, 800, and 1000kPa in compressive,
Keywords: Diabetic Foot, Finite Element Analysis, Heel cushion pad, Anisotropy, Elasticity modulus
Received: 02 Sep 2025; Accepted: 13 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yang, Hu, Ma, Jiang, Zhang and Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sheng Lu, drlusheng123@yeah.net
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