Abstract
Foot plantar pressure measurement is one of the most promising approaches for diagnosing foot problems at an early stage for injury prevention and general wellbeing. Information can be derived from the pressure created between the human foot and the support surface in contact with it. This data can be used in gait and posture monitoring for research applications in medical fields, sports, and footwear design. Therefore, it is important to develop an accurate and reliable foot plantar pressure measurement system. This paper presents the development of a plantar pressure measurement insole with embedded printed flexible piezoresistive sensors. The sensing elements of the insole were made from the dispensing of a carbon-based composite with curvilinear shapes. The insole was proved to be suitable for measuring the high-pressure distribution of the different areas of a subject’s foot. Tests to compare the effect of the length of the printed sensors on their performance were carried out. Based on the found results, customizable flexible insoles can be fabricated following the pressure of different regions under the foot.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abri, H., Aalaa, M., Sanjari, M., Amini, M. R., Mohajeri-Tehrani, M. R., & Larijani, B. (2019). Plantar pressure distribution in diverse stages of diabetic neuropathy. Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders, 18, 33–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-019-00387-1.
Edgar, S. R., Swyka, T., Fulk, G., & Sazonov, E. S. (2010). Wearable Shoe-Based Device for Rehabilitation of Stroke Patients. In Proceedings of the 2010 Annual international conference of the IEEE engineering in medicine and biology; IEEE: Buenos Aires, August ; pp. 3772–3775
Queen, R. M., Haynes, B. B., Hardaker, W. M., & Garrett, W. E. (2007). Forefoot loading during 3 athletic tasks. The American Journal of Sports Medicine 35, 630–636.
Kang, S. R., Nah, J. W., Hong, C. U., & Kwon, T. K. (2018). The development of smart insole for improvement of human body imbalance during walking. KSPE 35, pp. 53–59, https://doi.org/10.7736/KSPE.2018.35.1.53
Mary, A. W. (2010) The human balance system-A complex coordination of central and peripheral systems. Journal of Vestibular Research. 20, 149–268
Kao, M. J., Chen, T. H., Chou, L. W., Tsai, M. W., & Lo, M. J. (2014). Effectiveness of a heel cup with an arch support insole on the standing balance of the elderly. CIA 351, https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S56268
Chow, T. H., Chen, Y. S., Tsai, W. C., & Lin, M. H. (2021). Plantar pressure profiles and possible foot syndromes of Taiwanese College Elite Basketball Players. Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association, 111, 5. https://doi.org/10.7547/18-043.
Amaro, C. M., Castro, M. A., Roseiro, L., Neto, M. A., & Amaro, A. M. (2020). Plantar pressure evaluation during the season in five basketball movements. Applied Sciences, 10, 8691. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10238691.
Leong, H. F., Lam, W. K., Ng, W. X., & Kong, P. W. (2018). Center of pressure and perceived stability in basketball shoes with soft and hard midsoles. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 34, 284–290. https://doi.org/10.1123/jab.2017-0120.
Abdul Razak, A. H., Zayegh, A., Begg, R. K., & Wahab, Y. (2012). Foot plantar pressure measurement system: A review. Sensors, 12, 9884–9912. https://doi.org/10.3390/s120709884.
Ramalingame, R., Hu, Z., Gerlach, C., & Kanoun, O. (2017). Shoe insole with MWCNT-PDMS-composite sensors for pressure monitoring. In Proceedings of the IEEE SENSORS; IEEE: Glasgow, October 2017; pp. 1–3
Lee, W., Hong, S. H., & Oh, H. W. (2018). Characterization of Elastic Polymer-Based Smart Insole and a Simple Foot Plantar Pressure Visualization Method Using 16 Electrodes. Sensors, 19, 44. https://doi.org/10.3390/s19010044.
Kim, H., Park, S., & Lee, I. (2019). Additive manufacturing of smart insole by direct printing of pressure sensitive material. Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-1101-8.
Fekiri, C., Kim, S. H., Kim, H. C., & Lee, I. H. (2019). Improved resistance stability for tactile sensor fabrication and investigation of the dispensing parameters of a nanocomposite material. Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, 33, 5631–5636.
Fekiri, C., Kim, H. C., & Lee, I. H. (2020). 3D-printable carbon nanotubes-based composite for flexible Piezoresistive sensors. Materials, 13, 5482. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13235482.
Kong, K., & Tomizuka, M. (2009). Gait monitoring system based on air pressure sensors embedded in a shoe. IEEE/ASME Transactions on mechatronics, 14, 358–370.
Zhu, H., Maalej, N., Webster, J. G., Tompkins, W. J., Bach-Y-Rita, P., & Wertsch, J. J. (1990). An umbilical data-acquisition system for measuring pressures between the foot and shoe. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 37, 908–911.
Acknowledgements
This paper has been supported by The Ministry of Science and ICT (Study on The Development of Flexible Tactile Sensors with Multi-layer Structure and Wide Sensing Range) (Task Number 2019 R1F1A1060440) and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (No.2021R1A4A1033141).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jung, S.Y., Fekiri, C., Kim, HC. et al. Development of Plantar Pressure Distribution Measurement Shoe Insole with Built-in Printed Curved Sensor Structure. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 23, 565–572 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-022-00637-y
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-022-00637-y