Sensor architectural tradeoff for diabetic foot ulcer monitoring

The diabetic foot complications constitute a tremendous challenge for patients, caregivers, and the healthcare system. Studies show up to 25% of diabetic individuals will develop a foot ulcer during their lifetime and many of these patients eventually must undergo amputation as a result of infection due to untreated foot ulcers. With current technology, in-shoe monitoring systems can be implemented to continuously monitor at-risk ulceration sites based on known indicators such as peak pressure. The important parameters in designing a pressure-sensing insole include the number, location and size of sensors. In this paper, we aim at showing the criticality of sensor architectural tradeoff in developing the in-shoe plantar pressure monitoring systems. We evaluate this tradeoff by using our custom-made platform for data collection during normal walking.