A private-public partnership between the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and Orthotix Inc. promises to cut the number of amputations here by helping patients get customized shoes faster, easier and cheaper.
Diabetics, along with sufferers of foot, knee and back pain, people with blood circulation complaints, and some other patients should now be able to do away with applications of somewhat messy plaster and foam moulds to their feet to determine not just sizes but unique shapes and pressure points of their feet so shoe soles can be designed for them.
At a launching ceremony yesterday in the QEH boardroom, hospital and Ministry of Health officials spoke of the usefulness in this joint venture that would see the private company making available to the medical institution, equipment to scan the first 5 000 pairs of feet.
After this, the device would be returned to Orthotix Inc., a Barbadian company, where such treatment would continue to be offered. (GA)
