When you think of Israeli high-tech, you may picture hands on a keyboard. Shift your gaze way down to the feet, and follow ISRAEL21c on an exploration of two new shoe technologies invented to keep people walking with less danger of falling.
B-Shoe (the ‘b’ is for balance)
B-Shoe Technologies addresses the grim statistic that every year, one out of three people aged 65 and older takes a spill in the United States alone. Closer to age 80, the risk affects nearly everybody, and these falls often result in hospitalization and decreased life expectancy. Related healthcare costs are estimated in the billions.
For biomechanical engineer Yonatan Manor, these epidemic-like stats hit home as his father aged and began to fall frequently. Observing how elderly people walk and stand, he theorized that the biomechanics of stability – just like vision and hearing – deteriorate with age. The muscles and reflexes cannot manage the little unconscious adjustments to maintain optimal center of pressure in the heel area. The correcting step backward comes too late, in the wrong direction or not at all.
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