Biomechanical analysis of smart walking shoe sending movement information to display device by radio communication

The purpose of this study was to find the difference in foot pressure patterns when wearing smart walking shoes. Foot pressure measurement is an established tool for the evaluation of foot function [1]. These measurements assess the effect of structural changes, which may occur as a complication of pathologies such as diabetes, and therefore have been suggested as one of the key tools in ulcer risk estimation [2]. The subjects who took part in the test consist of 5 elderly people and 5 young people. The physical features of the elderly people that were recruited for the study are shown below: 5 healthy male subjects (elderly people) with an average age of 62.0 yrs (S.D 1.0 yrs), weight of 69.4 kg (S.D 10.0 kg), height of 168.8 cm (S.D 5.3 cm) and a foot size of 270.0 mm (S.D 0.0 mm). 5 healthy male subjects (young people) with an average age of 27.2 yrs (S.D 4.1 yrs), weight of 75.2 kg (S.D 4.6 kg), height of 175.4 cm (S.D 4.0 cm) and a foot size of 270.0 mm (S.D 0.0 mm). Ten males (5 elderly people, 5 young people) walked on a treadmill wearing three different shoes. Foot pressure data (Contact areas, Maximum forece, Peak pressure, Maximum mean pressure) was collected using a Pedar-X mobile system (Novel Gmbh., Germany) operating at the 1,000 Hz. The results are as follows: 1. Young people In comparison with the Type B (control shoes): 1) Type A (development shoes) a)The contact area of foot (Total) by increased 8.36%, forefoot (M1) by increased 8.95%, midfoot (M2) by increased 12.18% and rearfoot (M3) by increased 4.48%. b)The maximum force of foot (Total) by decreased 4.02%, rearfoot (M3) by decreased 6.39%, while the maximum force of forefoot (M1) by increased 2.48% and midfoot (M2) by increased 17.52%. c)The peak pressure of foot (Total) by increased 2.28%, forefoot (M1) by increased 6.19%, while the peak pressure of midfoot (M2) by decreased 2.91% and rearfoot (M3) by decreased 13.69%. d)The maximum mean pressure of foot (Total) by decreased 12.74%, forefoot (M1) by decreased 6.90%, midfoot (M2) by decreased 2.79% and rearfoot (M3) by decreased 11.18%. 2) Type C (smart walking shoes) a)The contact area of foot (Total) by increased 7.96%, forefoot (M1) by increased 8.90%, midfoot (M2) by increased 11.81% and rearfoot (M3) by increased 3.50%. b)The maximum force of foot (Total) by decreased 5.27%, forefoot (M1) by decreased 0.67% and rearfoot (M3) by decreased 5.67%, while the maximum force of midfoot (M2) by increased 23.55%. c)The peak pressure of foot (Total) by decreased 6.70%, forefoot (M1) by decreased 3.35% and rearfoot (M3) by decreased 10.54%, while the peak pressure of midfoot (M2) by increased 2.19%. d)The maximum mean pressure of foot (Total) by decreased 10.97%, forefoot (M1) by decreased 7.62%, midfoot (M2) by decreased 1.15% and rearfoot (M3) by decreased 8.02%. 2. Elderly people In comparison with the Type B (control shoes): 1) Type A (development shoes) a)The contact area of foot (Total) by increased 8.09%, forefoot (M1) by increased 5.47%, midfoot (M2) by increased 22.66% and rearfoot (M3) by increased 3.21%. b)The maximum force of foot (Total) by decreased 2.13%, forefoot (M1) by decreased 3.53% and rearfoot (M3) by decreased 9.85%, while the maximum force of midfoot (M2) by increased 41.32%. c)The peak pressure * Correspondence: [email protected] Footwear Biomechanics Team, Footwear Industrial Promotion Center, Busan, Korea Park et al. Journal of Foot and Ankle Research 2014, 7(Suppl 1):A121 http://www.jfootankleres.com/content/7/S1/A121 JOURNAL OF FOOT AND ANKLE RESEARCH