Towards a Low Power Wireless Smartshoe System for Gait Analysis in People with Disabilities

Gait analysis using smart sensor technology is an important medical diagnostic process and has many applications in rehabilitation, therapy and exercise training. In this paper, we present a low power wireless smartshoe system to analyze different functional postures and characteristics of gait while walking. We have designed and implemented a smartshoe with a Bluetooth communication module to unobtrusively collect data using smartphone in any environment. With the design of insole equipped with four pressure sensors, the observed foot pressure is obtained and accuracy of a standard activity can be assessed. With our proposed portable sensing system and effective low power communication algorithm, the smartshoe system enables detailed gait analysis. Furthermore, pervasive gait analysis using our system can be extended in many potential applications such as fall prevention, life behavior analysis and networked wireless health systems.