Validation of the wearable sensor system - MoveSole® smart insoles

Antti Alamäki, Elina Nevala, Juha Jalovaara, John Barton, Salvatore Tedesco, Joan Condell, Karla Munoz Esquivel, Daniel Kelly, David Heaney, James Gillespie, Shvan Karim, RJ Davies, Anna Nordström, Markus Åkerlund Larsson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Biomechanical analysis of gait is commonly used in physiotherapy. Ground reaction forces during phases of gait are one element of kinetic analysis. In this article, we analyze if the MoveSole® smart insole is valid and accurate equipment for measuring ground reaction forces in clinical physiotherapy. MoveSole®
StepLab is a mobile measurement system for instant underfoot force measurements during gait. Unique electromagnetic film (EMFI) based sensor technology and printed electronics production technology is integrated into the MoveSole® StepLab measurement system. The MoveSole® StepLab measures plantar ground reaction force distribution over the sensors and provides an estimation of the maximum total ground reaction force.

We developed a two-phase validation process to extract relevant parameters and compared the results to a Kistler force plate using the BioWare® analyzing program as a reference method. Our results show that MoveSole® smart insoles reach the strong level of accuracy needed in clinical work concerning the highest ground reaction forces during step (Pearson correlation .822 - .875). The correlation of the time when the maximum ground reaction force occurred was moderate, e.g. during heel strike or toe-off (Pearson correlation natural gait speed .351 - .462, maximum gait speed .430). Our conclusion is that MoveSole® smart insoles are a potential tool for analyzing and monitoring gait ground reaction forces during physiotherapy processes
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)124-132
Number of pages9
JournalFinnish Journal of eHealth and eWelfare
Volume13
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 18 Jun 2021

Keywords

  • Gait analysis
  • Smart insoles
  • Validation
  • Physiotherapy
  • Rehabilitation
  • health technology

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