scholarly journals A Systematic Approach to the Design and Characterization of a Smart Insole for Detecting Vertical Ground Reaction Force (vGRF) in Gait Analysis

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 957 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anas M. Tahir ◽  
Muhammad E. H. Chowdhury ◽  
Amith Khandakar ◽  
Sara Al-Hamouz ◽  
Merna Abdalla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gait Analysis ◽  
Reaction Force ◽  
Applied Pressure ◽  
Pressure Sensors ◽  
Clinical Diagnostics ◽  
Piezoelectric Sensors ◽  
Sensor Calibration ◽  
Vertical Ground Reaction Force ◽  
Vertical Ground ◽  
Smart Insole

Gait analysis is a systematic study of human locomotion, which can be utilized in various applications, such as rehabilitation, clinical diagnostics and sports activities. The various limitations such as cost, non-portability, long setup time, post-processing time etc., of the current gait analysis techniques have made them unfeasible for individual use. This led to an increase in research interest in developing smart insoles where wearable sensors can be employed to detect vertical ground reaction forces (vGRF) and other gait variables. Smart insoles are flexible, portable and comfortable for gait analysis, and can monitor plantar pressure frequently through embedded sensors that convert the applied pressure to an electrical signal that can be displayed and analyzed further. Several research teams are still working to improve the insoles’ features such as size, sensitivity of insoles sensors, durability, and the intelligence of insoles to monitor and control subjects’ gait by detecting various complications providing recommendation to enhance walking performance. Even though systematic sensor calibration approaches have been followed by different teams to calibrate insoles’ sensor, expensive calibration devices were used for calibration such as universal testing machines or infrared motion capture cameras equipped in motion analysis labs. This paper provides a systematic design and characterization procedure for three different pressure sensors: force-sensitive resistors (FSRs), ceramic piezoelectric sensors, and flexible piezoelectric sensors that can be used for detecting vGRF using a smart insole. A simple calibration method based on a load cell is presented as an alternative to the expensive calibration techniques. In addition, to evaluate the performance of the different sensors as a component for the smart insole, the acquired vGRF from different insoles were used to compare them. The results showed that the FSR is the most effective sensor among the three sensors for smart insole applications, whereas the piezoelectric sensors can be utilized in detecting the start and end of the gait cycle. This study will be useful for any research group in replicating the design of a customized smart insole for gait analysis.

scholarly journals Effect of jump heights, landing techniques, and participants on vertical ground reaction force and loading rate during landing on three different Korean teeterboards

2021 ◽  
pp. 175433712110580
Author(s):  
Marion Cossin ◽  
Annie Ross ◽  
François Prince
Keyword(s):  
Injury Risk ◽  
Loading Rate ◽  
Reaction Force ◽  
Pressure Sensors ◽  
High Impact ◽  
The Body ◽  
Boosted Regression Trees ◽  
Jump Height ◽  
Vertical Ground Reaction Force ◽  
Vertical Ground

Korean teeterboard is one of the most physically and technically demanding circus disciplines. Two performers take turns jumping vertically and land with high impact. The aims of this study were to (1) compare the stiffness across three different teeterboards, and (2) compare Peak Landing Force (PLF) and Maximal Loading Rate (MLR) of four acrobats performing jumps from three teeterboards using four landing techniques (normal, smooth, straight legs, and empty board). Pressure sensors were used to determine recorded forces under the feet, while Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) was used to analyze factors contributing to PLF and MLR. Standard static loading protocol was used to estimate teeterboard stiffness. PLF and MLR increased with jump height. PLF and MLR were reached when landing on the teeterboard with the highest stiffness. The “normal” and “straight legs” landing techniques were associated with higher PLF and MLR. The BRT model was able to associate both PLF and MLR with jump height, participant, teeterboard, and landing technique factors. PLF reached 13.5 times the body weight when landing on the stiffer teeterboard using the straight legs technique. Trainers should be aware of the injury risk to teeterboard acrobats during landing.

In-Shoe Pressure Distribution for Running in Various Types of Footwear

1995 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewald M. Hennig ◽  
Thomas L. Milani
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Distribution ◽  
Ground Reaction Force ◽  
Reaction Force ◽  
Pressure Sensors ◽  
Metatarsal Head ◽  
Vertical Ground Reaction Force ◽  
First Metatarsal ◽  
Acceleration Data ◽  
Vertical Ground ◽  
Shoe Soles

Discrete pressure sensors were used to examine the influence of shoe construction on the local forces under the foot. Measurements were performed at eight locations under the feet of 22 subjects wearing 19 different models of running shoes. Mechanical properties of shoe soles were assessed with an impacter device. Pressure distribution, ground reaction force, and acceleration data were collected simultaneously during running at 3.3 m/s. Early lateral loading of the rearfoot was followed by increasing medial forefoot loads. In the later phase of pushoff the load was almost entirely carried by the first metatarsal head and the hallux. Substantial differences in plantar foot pressures and relative loads among shoe models indicated that footwear construction has a substantial influence on the loading behavior of the foot during ground contact. Finally, the chosen sensor locations under the foot were found to be adequate to estimate the vertical ground reaction force.

scholarly journals Running ground reaction forces across footwear conditions are predicted from the motion of two body mass components

2019 ◽  
Vol 126 (5) ◽  
pp. 1315-1325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew B. Udofa ◽  
Kenneth P. Clark ◽  
Laurence J. Ryan ◽  
Peter G. Weyand
Keyword(s):  
Ground Reaction Force ◽  
Lower Limb ◽  
Reaction Force ◽  
Ground Reaction Forces ◽  
Vertical Ground Reaction Force ◽  
Time Patterns ◽  
Foot Strike ◽  
Reaction Forces ◽  
Vertical Ground ◽  
Force Time

Although running shoes alter foot-ground reaction forces, particularly during impact, how they do so is incompletely understood. Here, we hypothesized that footwear effects on running ground reaction force-time patterns can be accurately predicted from the motion of two components of the body’s mass (mb): the contacting lower-limb (m1 = 0.08mb) and the remainder (m2 = 0.92mb). Simultaneous motion and vertical ground reaction force-time data were acquired at 1,000 Hz from eight uninstructed subjects running on a force-instrumented treadmill at 4.0 and 7.0 m/s under four footwear conditions: barefoot, minimal sole, thin sole, and thick sole. Vertical ground reaction force-time patterns were generated from the two-mass model using body mass and footfall-specific measures of contact time, aerial time, and lower-limb impact deceleration. Model force-time patterns generated using the empirical inputs acquired for each footfall matched the measured patterns closely across the four footwear conditions at both protocol speeds ( r2 = 0.96 ± 0.004; root mean squared error  = 0.17 ± 0.01 body-weight units; n = 275 total footfalls). Foot landing angles (θF) were inversely related to footwear thickness; more positive or plantar-flexed landing angles coincided with longer-impact durations and force-time patterns lacking distinct rising-edge force peaks. Our results support three conclusions: 1) running ground reaction force-time patterns across footwear conditions can be accurately predicted using our two-mass, two-impulse model, 2) impact forces, regardless of foot strike mechanics, can be accurately quantified from lower-limb motion and a fixed anatomical mass (0.08mb), and 3) runners maintain similar loading rates (ΔFvertical/Δtime) across footwear conditions by altering foot strike angle to regulate the duration of impact. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Here, we validate a two-mass, two-impulse model of running vertical ground reaction forces across four footwear thickness conditions (barefoot, minimal, thin, thick). Our model allows the impact portion of the impulse to be extracted from measured total ground reaction force-time patterns using motion data from the ankle. The gait adjustments observed across footwear conditions revealed that runners maintained similar loading rates across footwear conditions by altering foot strike angles to regulate the duration of impact.

scholarly journals Development of a Self-Powered Piezo-Resistive Smart Insole Equipped with Low-Power BLE Connectivity for Remote Gait Monitoring

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (13) ◽  
pp. 4539
Author(s):  
Roberto de Fazio ◽  
Elisa Perrone ◽  
Ramiro Velázquez ◽  
Massimo De Vittorio ◽  
Paolo Visconti
Keyword(s):  
Low Power ◽  
Smart Materials ◽  
Applied Pressure ◽  
Pressure Sensors ◽  
Complete Characterization ◽  
Electric Signal ◽  
Sensing Matrix ◽  
Capacitive Accelerometer ◽  
Gait Parameters ◽  
Smart Insole

The evolution of low power electronics and the availability of new smart materials are opening new frontiers to develop wearable systems for medical applications, lifestyle monitoring, and performance detection. This paper presents the development and realization of a novel smart insole for monitoring the plantar pressure distribution and gait parameters; indeed, it includes a piezoresistive sensing matrix based on a Velostat layer for transducing applied pressure into an electric signal. At first, an accurate and complete characterization of Velostat-based pressure sensors is reported as a function of sizes, support material, and pressure trend. The realization and testing of a low-cost and reliable piezoresistive sensing matrix based on a sandwich structure are discussed. This last is interfaced with a low power conditioning and processing section based on an Arduino Lilypad board and an analog multiplexer for acquiring the pressure data. The insole includes a 3-axis capacitive accelerometer for detecting the gait parameters (swing time and stance phase time) featuring the walking. A Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.0 module is included for transmitting in real-time the acquired data toward a PC, tablet or smartphone, for displaying and processing them using a custom Processing® application. Moreover, the smart insole is equipped with a piezoelectric harvesting section for scavenging energy from walking. The onfield tests indicate that for a walking speed higher than 1 ms−1, the device’s power requirements (i.e., ) was fulfilled. However, more than 9 days of autonomy are guaranteed by the integrated 380-mAh Lipo battery in the total absence of energy contributions from the harvesting section.

Carrying loads with springy poles

1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 1119-1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kram
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Ground Reaction Force ◽  
Oxygen Consumption Rate ◽  
Consumption Rate ◽  
Reaction Force ◽  
Load Carriage ◽  
Vertical Ground Reaction Force ◽  
Suspension Systems ◽  
Vertical Ground ◽  
Male Subjects

People throughout Asia use springy bamboo poles to carry the loads of everyday life. These poles are a very compliant suspension system that allows the load to move along a nearly horizontal path while the person bounces up and down with each step. Could this be an economical way to carry loads inasmuch as no gravitational work has to be done to lift the load repeatedly? To find out, an experiment was conducted in which four male subjects ran at 3.0 m/s on a motorized treadmill with no load and while carrying a load equal to 19% body wt with compliant poles. Oxygen consumption rate, vertical ground reaction force, and the force exerted by the load on the shoulders were measured. Oxygen consumption rate increased by 22%. The same increase has previously been observed when loads are carried with a backpack. Thus compliant poles are not a particularly economical method of load carriage. However, pole suspension systems offer important advantages: they minimize peak shoulder forces and loading rates. In addition, the peak vertical ground reaction force is only slightly increased above unloaded levels when loads are carried with poles.

Comparison of Biomechanical Factors between the Kicking and Stance Limbs

2004 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Ross ◽  
Kevin Guskiewicz ◽  
William Prentice ◽  
Robert Schneider ◽  
Bing Yu
Keyword(s):  
Knee Flexion ◽  
Reaction Force ◽  
Knee Extension ◽  
Knee Kinematic ◽  
Vertical Ground Reaction Force ◽  
Time To Peak ◽  
Balance Task ◽  
Vertical Ground ◽  
Biomechanical Factors ◽  
Anterior Posterior

Objective:T o determine differences between contralateral limbs’ strength, proprio-ception, and kinetic and knee-kinematic variables during single-limb landing.Setting:Laboratory.Subjects:30.Measurements:Hip, knee, and foot isokinetic peak torques; anterior/posterior (AP) and medial/lateral (ML) sway displacements during a balance task; and stabilization times, vertical ground-reaction force (VGRF), time to peak VGRF, and knee-flexion range of motion (ROM) from initial foot contact to peak VGRF during single-limb landing.Results:The kicking limb had significantly greater values for knee-extension (P= .008) and -flexion (P= .047) peak torques, AP sway displacement (P= .010), knee-flexion ROM from initial foot contact to peak VGRF (P< .001), and time to peak VGRF (P= .004). No other dependent measures were significantly different between limbs (P> .05).Conclusion:The kicking limb had superior thigh strength, better proprioception, and greater knee-flexion ROM than the stance limb.

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