TickleFoot: Design, Development and Evaluation of a Novel Foot-Tickling Mechanism That Can Evoke Laughter

Tickling is a type of sensation that is associated with laughter, smiling, or other similar reactions. Psychology research has shown that tickling and laughter can significantly relieve stress. Although several tickling artifacts have been suggested in prior work, limited knowledge is available if those artifacts could evoke laughter. In this article, we aim at filling this gap by designing and developing a novel foot-tickling mechanism that can evoke laughter. We first developed an actuator that can create tickling sensations along the sole of the foot utilising magnet-driven brushes. Then, we conducted two studies to identify the most ticklish locations of the foot’s sole and stimulation patterns that can evoke laughter. In a follow-up study with a new set of participants, we confirmed that the identified stimuli could evoke laughter. From the participants’ feedback, we derived several applications that such a simulation could be useful. Finally, we embedded our actuators into a flexible insole, demonstrating the potential of a wearable tickling insole.

Using Homemade Pressure Device to Improve Plantar Pressure—A Case Study on the Patient with Lower Limb Lymphedema

Feet play a very important and indispensable role in people’s lives. Patients with lymphedema often suffer from collapsed (or even deformed) foot arches as a result of lower extremity edema. This result will change the normal pressure distribution on the soles of their feet, which will affect their mobility and physical health. When the patient does not know that the distribution of pressure on the sole of the foot has changed significantly, the deformation of the sole of the foot will become severe. In response to this problem, this research team hopes to use a set of self-made sensor insoles to help to understand the plantar pressure points in different situations or actions. The subject invited in this study was a patient with lower extremity edema. The entire study was carried out with the consent of the patient, the guidance of the physician and the approval of the Ethics Committee of National Taiwan University Hospital (No: 201805068 RINB, date: 18 June 2018). This study uses this self-made sensor insole to analyze the plantar pressure distribution of the patient before and after the operation of lower extremity edema. The results show that the operation can effectively improve the high foot pressure in the center and rear of the foot area during different sports (standing, walking and biking). This not only increases its stability when standing and walking, but also significantly and effectively improves its walking speed and step distance.

Podiatric and Stabilographic Examinations of the Effects of School Bag Carrying in Children Aged 11 to 15 Years

Background: The issues raised in this study were inspired by the concern for the musculoskeletal status of school children. Carrying excess weight in the form of a school bag in this period of life affects the correct body posture of school children. The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of school bags on the feet force distribution on the ground and postural balance in children of both sexes between 11 and 15 years of age. Methods: The study investigated the distribution of pressure forces on the sole of the foot and its arch. The center of pressure for both feet and the whole body was also examined. The participants were 100 students from primary schools in Gdańsk, aged 11 to 15, including 54 girls and 46 boys. The research used a podobarographic platform that measures the distribution of foot pressure to the ground. The examinations included two measurements: in the first, the children stood on the platform in a natural position. Then, a 5 kg backpack was put on and they stood on the platform again. Results: Statistically significant differences were found in the distribution of the foot pressure on the ground in the left metatarsus (p = 0.000) and heel (p = 0.000) after putting on the backpack in both girls and boys. However, in the right foot, these differences concerned the metatarsal area (p = 0.001). The results of the balance tests were only statistically significant in the group of girls in the right foot sway area (p = 0.020). Conclusions: The school backpack load led to an increase in the values of the heel and metatarsal area measured in the students, causing its flattening.

“The study of therapeutic effect of Snuhitailam local application in the management of Padadari (crack heels)” - A case study.

Skin is the largest layer of our body which protects and shows shades of color of humans or any other creature on the earth. The most harshly and frequently used skin over body part is the sole of the foot, and it is also the most ignored skin part. Ayurveda is ancient science explained decades and is says that good foot/sole care lead to healthy eyes. Massaging ghrita over the sole of the foot helps in an increase in eyesight. Acharya Shruta explained a disease padadari (crack heels) under kshudra roga which includes symptoms like fissure’s and pain over sole/ heels3. He also explained chikaitsa of Padadari in brief. As Padadari is a vatapradhan roga it is important to treat vata and it is a locally affecting disease so local application medicine seems to be more effective. The best treatment for vata is tailam so by reference of Vaidya Manorama I took Snuhi tailam for study5. As it has ingredients like snuhiksheera, sarshap taila, saindhav which combinedly act as lekhana, snehana, vedanashamna and ropana.

Prevalence of Flexible Flat Foot in Iranian Male School Children

Background: Flat foot is a deformity in which patients lack standard arches in the soles of the foot. Flat foot improves with age. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of flexible flat foot among male school children in Tehran, Iran. Methods: A total of 1539 male school children were included in this study. Students were examined for the flatness of the sole of the foot as well as its degree and type. Flat foot was diagnosed on inspecting a poor formation of the arch. The severity of flatness was classified according to Denis criteria. Results: Among 1512 children whose foot condition was recorded, 80.7% had normal/grade 1 sole, 16.7% had 2nd degree flat feet, and 2.6% had 3rd degree flat feet. Prevalence of genu varum was 16.1% and prevalence of genu valgum was 2.7% (P = 0.504). The prevalence of flat foot decreased significantly with age; in the group of 11-year-old boys and younger, 23.1% showed a grade 2 and grade 3 flat foot, whereas in the group of 12-year-old boys and older, only 13.6% hada grade 2 and grade 3 flat foot (P < 0.001). Conclusion: In this study, a significant relationship was found between weight gain and body mass index (BMI) with flat feet. There is a significant association between passing the age of 12 years and a decrease in flat foot. Also, the association between flat foot with weight and height of children was examined separately, and it was found that weight could significantly be a poor predictor of flat feet.

The effect of taping on maximum plantar pressure and ground reaction force in flat-footed people after applying a fatigue protocol

We examined the effects of two types of antipronation taping on the lower limb kinetics in flat foot people before and after performing a physical fatigue protocol. 20 male and female with flat foot aged 22.39 ± 2.02 years old were studied under three conditions (untaping, reverse-6 taping and low-dye taping) either before or after fatigue states. A statistically significant difference was observed after applying two types of taping (reverse-6 vs. low-dye taping) in the maximum plantar pressure perceived in metatarsus 1 (P = 0.016) and lateral heel (P = 0.044). In the post-fatigue conditions, there were significant differences between the two taping types in metatarsus 4 (P = 0.024). The maximum ground reaction force in toe 1 (P = 0.001), toe 2–5 (P = 0.001), metatarsus 5 (P = 0.001), and medial heel (P = 0.001) was significantly different between reverse-6 and Low-dye tapings. The results indicated that the low-dye and reverse-6 taping types can reduce the pressure on the medial side of the foot, and push it towards the lateral side. It is therefore suggested using taping as an effective treatment for redistribution of the pressure and force in sole of the foot in people with flat foot.

Heel Pressure Sore: Surgical treatment with the Cone Flap

Introduction: The patients with paraplegia may present pressure sores in the heel because is an area offriction and shearing with a thin and insensible tigth skin. The treat ment include many flaps but ussually they are of difficult procedure. The Cone flap, described in PRS, is a good, reliable aneasy flap for treatment of the pressure sore in the heel. Objetive: Show the casuistic of the Cone flap for repair of the pressure sore of the heel in paraplegic patients. Material and Method: Since 2016 through 2019 we operated on ten paraplegics patients with pressure sore in the heel with espoesedcal caneous bone. The flap chosen was the Cone flap that combine a rotation and a V-Y fasciocutaneousone. Both flap are taken from the sole of the foot and transferred to the ulcer. Discussion and Conclusion: The treatment of pressure sores of the heel in paraplegic patients is very difficult because of the low blood supply of this area with a tight and thin skin. The Cone flap is an easy, reliable and sure one with good results giving blood supply to the area.