Grayson:

The Cloud Boot. The Cloud Boot is a shoe to help negate the damage caused by Lupus. This shoe was designed to allow people affected by Lupus to live an active lifestyle without concern. Lupus affects one point five million people in the US and one of its most severe side effects is a loss in bone density. Lupus causes loss of bone mineralization which can lead to a diagnosis of osteopenia or osteoporosis; and due to its severe side effects, it causes many of the people affected to have to change their entire way of life to avoid fractures. Such as avoiding walking for too long and avoiding all physical contact. The Cloud Boot is designed so that it can try to negate these issues and allow the families of people affected and people affected by Lupus to not worry about their daily life.

The Cloud Boot* was designed for the persona of a fifteen-year-old girl named Kara so that she could continue to hike and go on long walks. It supports Kara’s active lifestyle by using a combination of a system built into the sole designed to reduce impact by cushioning the force with springs, strategically placed cushioning around the toes and heel, and straps that allow you to change where you want the pressure. With this shoe, people affected by Lupus can now go about their daily life and participate in low-impact activities without worrying about fractures in the feet.

Trey:

The Cloud Boot is a shoe designed for people diagnosed with Lupus, and helps them still to live an active life. This shoe reduces the force that the user’s foot is receiving when walking, and reduces injuries. This condition is estimated to have 16,000 new cases each year. With this disease, the immune system affects its own tissues, causing tissue damage in the affected organs.

Due to the lack of support in regular shoes, people with Lupus have to change their entire life style just to avoid any injuries or damages. This shoe was created for a persona, named Kara, a 15-year-old girl with lupus who enjoys taking hikes and long walks. This shoe helps Kara by having an ample amount of sole cushioning to reduce any contact that can happen in activities. There are also straps on the shoe that can be adjusted, so the force on the straps can be changed. The padding inside the shoe is made out of foam and the outside of the shoe is made out of foam sheets.