A Low-Cost Instrumented Shoe System for Gait Phase Detection Based on Foot Plantar Pressure Data

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Wearable Technology
• Sensor Systems

Background:

• Gait phase detection is crucial for diagnosing and treating movement disorders.
• Existing systems are often expensive, bulky, or lack portability for real-world applications.
• There is a need for accessible, accurate gait analysis tools for clinical and home use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a low-cost, portable instrumented shoe system for precise gait phase detection.
• To assess the system's accuracy in identifying key stance sub-phases during various walking conditions.
• To enable convenient, extensive daily living activity data collection for rehabilitation.

Main Methods:

• Constructed an instrumented shoe with 174 sensing units using Velostat conductive copolymer.
• Implemented a zero potential method to mitigate crosstalk in sensor arrays.
• Developed a custom algorithm for gait event and phase detection, including initial contact, flat foot, and push-off.
• Conducted experiments for straight-line and turning walking to validate system performance against reference measurements.

Main Results:

• The instrumented shoe system achieved mean absolute time differences of 45-58 ms for straight-line walking and 51-77 ms for turning walking.
• Performance was comparable to existing state-of-the-art gait analysis methods.
• The system demonstrated reliable detection of key gait sub-phases.

Conclusions:

• The proposed low-cost, portable instrumented shoe system provides accurate gait phase detection.
• This technology facilitates convenient gait monitoring in home healthcare settings.
• It supports extensive activity data collection, aiding the development of effective rehabilitation strategies for patients with movement disorders.