An in-shoe device to measure plantar pressure during daily human activity

In this work, we report the development of a novel device, integrated into a shoe, to monitor plantar pressure under real-life conditions by reducing the spatial and temporal resolution. The device consists of a shoe insole with seven pressure-sensitive conductive rubber sensors and a wireless data transmission unit incorporated into a smaller measurement unit. One advantage of this approach is that the mass and volume of the measurement unit are less than 1/10th and 1/50th, respectively, of that reported for other devices. A comparison experiment was conducted for validation of the device using the F-scan system, and the initial test of the device was conducted by recording unobstructed gaits of one young adult subject and two elderly subjects. Each subject performed a straight, level walking trial at a comfortable speed for 7 m without any assistive device while wearing the in-shoe device. Changes in the plantar pressure during gait were recorded. Compared with the young subject, the pressure under the heel of the elderly subject was found to be smaller and less steep. This in-shoe device can be used to monitor plantar pressure during daily living and is expected to be useful in various clinical applications. (C) 2011 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.