Wang Baitong, Rajput Kuldeep Singh, Tam Wing-Kin, Tung Anthony K H, Yang Zhi
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2015 Aug;2015:3723-6. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2015.7319202.
Gait analysis is an important diagnostic measure to investigate the pattern of walking. Traditional gait analysis is generally carried out in a gait lab, with equipped force and body tracking sensors, which needs a trained medical professional to interpret the results. This procedure is tedious, expensive, and unreliable and makes it difficult to track the progress across multiple visits. In this paper, we present a smart insole called FreeWalker, which provides quantitative gait analysis outside the confinement of traditional lab, at low- cost. The insole consists of eight pressure sensors and two motion tracking sensors, i.e. 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope. This enables measurement of under-foot pressure distribution and motion sequences in real-time. The insole is enabled with onboard SD card as well as wireless data transmission, which help in continuous gait-cycle analysis. The data is then sent to a gateway, for analysis and interpretation of data, using a user interface where gait features are graphically displayed. We also present validation result of a subject's left foot, who was asked to perform a specific task. Experiment results show that we could achieve a data-sampling rate of over 1 KHz, transmitting data up to a distance of 20 meter and maintain a battery life of around 24 hours. Taking advantage of these features, FreeWalker can be used in various applications, like medical diagnosis, rehabilitation, sports and entertainment.
步态分析是研究行走模式的一项重要诊断手段。传统的步态分析通常在步态实验室进行，配备有测力和身体跟踪传感器，这需要训练有素的医学专业人员来解读结果。这个过程繁琐、昂贵且不可靠，并且难以跟踪多次就诊期间的进展情况。在本文中，我们展示了一种名为FreeWalker的智能鞋垫，它能在传统实验室之外低成本地提供定量步态分析。该鞋垫由八个压力传感器和两个运动跟踪传感器组成，即三轴加速度计和三轴陀螺仪。这使得能够实时测量足底压力分布和运动序列。该鞋垫配备了板载SD卡以及无线数据传输功能，有助于进行连续的步态周期分析。然后，数据被发送到一个网关，通过一个图形化显示步态特征的用户界面来进行数据分析和解读。我们还展示了一名受试者左脚执行特定任务时的验证结果。实验结果表明，我们能够实现超过1千赫兹的数据采样率，数据传输距离可达20米，并且电池续航时间约为24小时。利用这些特性，FreeWalker可用于各种应用，如医学诊断、康复、运动和娱乐。
