AN INVENTOR from Stratford is making big strides in business with her ground-breaking foot mirror.
Lisa Preston and David Smyt created ‘Solesee’ – a portable mirror which allows people with diabetes and other high-risk conditions to check their feet for cuts and wounds – which has attracted interest from podiatrists all over the world. Diabetics can be at risk of amputation if an undiscovered cut becomes ulcerated and infected.
Lisa owns ShoeMed in The Minories and came up with the idea after talking to customers in her shop.
She fits specialist shoes for people with foot problems and often heard customers did not check their feet due to the difficulty in doing so.
Lisa told The Observer: “As a professional shoe fitter, I see people who need to be inspecting the underneath of their feet every day but cannot easily do so.
“I had to think of an easy to use, safe and discrete way to help people look at the bottom of their feet and most importantly, to help educate them to take responsibility and look every day for any changes in their foot condition.”
After talking to Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub – which offers help and advice to local businesses – she teamed up with product development expert David to create the shatterproof mirror, which has since been sent to various NHS foot clinics.
It stands upright and allows people to rest their foot on it, making it easy to check the underneath of their feet.
David said: “There is no other product like this on the market. For some people checking their feet is an essential daily task, so having this available will make it much easier to carry out.
“We have had a number of podiatrists who work overseas talk to us and we have had interest from Croatia, the Netherlands, Korea, America and Australia, with orders already received from some of these countries.”
Visit www.solesee.com for further details.
