Finnish Journal of eHealth and eWelfare (Jun 2021)

Validation of the wearable sensor system - MoveSole® smart insoles

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

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 2

Abstract

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Biomechanical analysis of gait is commonly used in physiotherapy. Ground reaction forces during phases of gait is 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 in 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 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.

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