Hi, everybody -
I'm doing research for a potential startup company and hoping to gather feedback on our idea. For a bit of context, we are working on a start up concept for a shoe that’s geared towards people with movement disorders and other disabilities. My business partner has had dystonia for nearly a decade, and he's come to find that finding shoes that are both stylish and functional for his dystonia has been really challenging.
We're doing some initial research on the industry and how people with similar disorders experience this same problem and how they currently manage it.
Our idea is only a concept right now: we would like to develop an app that measures and calibrates the individual’s gait and provide them with a shoe for their individual foot. The options are basically: diabetic shoes or running shoes with tons of modification and living with pain. Neither of these options are particularly good. We think the main reason this happens is because the majority of designers are not in that particular demographic.
If anybody is open to sharing their experience and chatting further, just let me know!
martinmm@bu.edu
I'm newly-diagnosed with PD. I understand the need for exercise, and thought I'd try Tai Chi.