Flexible sensor matrix film-based wearable plantar pressure force measurement and analysis system

Abstract

Plantar pressure force data derived from gait and posture are commonly used as health indicators for foot diagnosis, injury prevention, and rehabilitation. This study developed a wearable plantar pressure force measurement and analysis (WPPFMA) system based on a flexible sensor matrix film to monitor plantar pressure force in real time. The developed system comprised a flexible sensor matrix film embedded in the insole of the shoe, a wearable data acquisition (DAQ) device with a Bluetooth module, and dedicated software with an intuitive graphical user interface for displaying the plantar pressure force data from receivers by using a terminal unit (laptop or smart-phone). The flexible sensor matrix film integrated 16 piezoresistive cell sensors to detect pressure force at different anatomical zones of the plantar and under different body positions. The signals from the flexible sensor matrix film were collected using the DAQ module embedded in the shoe and transmitted to the receivers through Bluetooth. The real-time display and analysis software can monitor, visualize, and record the detailed plantar pressure force data, such as average pressure force, maximum pressure force, and pressure force distributions and variations over time. The outcomes of the trials in which the system was worn revealed the applicability of the developed WPPFMA system for monitoring plantar pressure force under static and dynamic wearing conditions. The plantar pressure force data derived from this system provide valuable insights for personal foot care, gait analysis, and clinical diagnosis.

Nacre-Mimetic, Mechanically Flexible, and Electrically Conductive Silk Fibroin-MXene Composite Foams as Piezoresistive Pressure Sensors

“…Despite most of the reported carbon-based pressure-sensing materials, such as the carbon aerogel, − flexible substrate-loaded carbon, , and carbon film, − the present foams could maintain a better linear sensitivity, which are 14.23 and 12.53 kPa –1 under 1.4 kPa for X-SF-MXene9-GO and X-SF-MXene5-GO, respectively. The reported sensitivity values were also higher than the values obtained from the MXene/GO composite foams reported by Ma et al ( S = 4.05 kPa –1 at pressure ∼1 kPa).…”

Plantar pressure measurement system based on piezoelectric sensor: a review

“…In addition to the structure of piezoelectric sensor, hardware design is the another important element of plantar pressure (Zhao et al, 2020;Zhang et al, 2012). Hardware part consists of data amplification unit, analog-todigital (AD) converter unit, data acquisition unit (DAQ), data transmission unit.…”

Conjugated Polymer-Based Nanocomposites for Pressure Sensors

“…Flexible sensors have attracted tremendous attention due to their potential applications in the fields of health monitoring, medical diagnosis, electronic skin (e-skin), and artificial intelligence [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. In recent years, flexible sensors have made great progress in material selection, structure design, and practical application [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. Currently, the most widely studied sensing materials include traditional silicon-based materials, flexible and stretchable polymers, and conductive carbon and metal nanostructures, including nanoparticles, nanowires, nanosheets, and nanofibers [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , <...…”