Abstract
Plantar pressure force data derived from gait and posture are commonly used as health indicators for foot diagnosis, injury prevention, and rehabilitation. This study developed a wearable plantar pressure force measurement and analysis (WPPFMA) system based on a flexible sensor matrix film to monitor plantar pressure force in real time. The developed system comprised a flexible sensor matrix film embedded in the insole of the shoe, a wearable data acquisition (DAQ) device with a Bluetooth module, and dedicated software with an intuitive graphical user interface for displaying the plantar pressure force data from receivers by using a terminal unit (laptop or smart-phone). The flexible sensor matrix film integrated 16 piezoresistive cell sensors to detect pressure force at different anatomical zones of the plantar and under different body positions. The signals from the flexible sensor matrix film were collected using the DAQ module embedded in the shoe and transmitted to the receivers through Bluetooth. The real-time display and analysis software can monitor, visualize, and record the detailed plantar pressure force data, such as average pressure force, maximum pressure force, and pressure force distributions and variations over time. The outcomes of the trials in which the system was worn revealed the applicability of the developed WPPFMA system for monitoring plantar pressure force under static and dynamic wearing conditions. The plantar pressure force data derived from this system provide valuable insights for personal foot care, gait analysis, and clinical diagnosis.
Highlights
Plantar pressure force information is commonly applied to determine and analyze various foot disorders and impairments [1, 2]
A higher plantar pressure force was distributed at the heel area and the metatarsal area, which is consistent with results in the literature obtained from tests on normal human feet using a Gaitview1 AFA-50 system [28, 29]
An in-shoe wearable plantar pressure force measurement and analysis (WPPFMA) system based on a flexible sensor matrix film was developed in this study to measure the magnitudes and distributions of plantar pressure force among 16 anatomical sites
Summary
Plantar pressure force information is commonly applied to determine and analyze various foot disorders and impairments [1, 2]. Continuous efforts have been deployed for improving the effectiveness and reliability of the plantar pressure and force measurement. Woodburn et al [3] designed a commercialized in-shoe F-Scan system to test plantar force and pressure. Shu et al [4] reported a six-textile-fabric sensor-based in-shoe analysis system for plantar pressure detection. Gerlach et al [5] printed the composite pressure sensor for plantar pressure monitoring. Rajala et al [6] applied piezoelectric polymer films with evaporated copper electrodes
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