Nottingham, UK based smart textiles innovator Footfalls & Heartbeats (UK) Limited, has developed knitted trainers (sneakers) that will provide valuable real time data for patients in the rehabilitation and prehabilitation sectors in healthcare.

“The team at Footfalls have decided to upgrade the humble trainer into the healthcare tool of the future. Our trainers knitted in less than 26 minutes will provide valuable real time data for the rehabilitation and prehabilitation sectors of the healthcare market,” commented Simon McMaster, founder and CSO at Footfalls and Heartbeats.

“Going for a hip or knee reconstruction, our trainers will map your current baseline gait prior to surgery (prehabilitation) and then provide a personalised program after you come home (rehabilitation). Do your rehab well and it will be fewer visits to the physio or occupational health professional and more time getting back to the activities you love,” Simon added.

“Imagine the future where your clothes and apparel help you recover from illness or injury. No extra digital devices just the cool Hawaiian shirt in your wardrobe. Cutting edge technology to determine how and when you interact with the healthcare system in a positive, proactive and private manner. The future is here, and the future is Footfalls.

Footfalls & Heartbeats was founded by New Zealand born chemist Simon McMaster who brings many years of experience researching intelligent textiles. The company has developed a revolutionary and proprietary process for manufacturing smart fabric which uses nano-scale interactions within the textile to make the fabric itself the sensor, avoiding the need for wires or miniature electronics.

Footfalls & Heartbeats moved from New Zealand to the United Kingdom in 2015, where it has thrived in Nottingham, the home of weft knitting. Starting out with a small team in the Ingenuity Building on the Jubilee Campus, Footfalls then moved into larger premises in the Innovation Building at Nottingham’s BioCity. After spending a successful few years in BioCity, Footfalls moved into its own building in late 2020. The move also coincided with the acquisition of a Stoll flat knitting machine, helping further Footfalls’ research and manufacturing potential. The Stoll machine joined the already acquired Santoni X machine, making it one of the most advanced smart textiles knitting labs anywhere in the UK.

www.footfallsandheartbeats.com