Insole Design and Optimization Processes for Gait Analysis

• Published in: 2023 IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence (SSCI) pp. 1340 - 1345
• Main Authors: Orozco Villanueva, Kevin Alejandro, Richter, Miguel, Villa, Carlos, Martinez-Villasenor, Lourdes, Ponce, Hiram, Barrera-Animas, Ari Yair
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 05.12.2023
• Subjects: Gait analysis; insole; Legged locomotion; Motion control; Safety; Stability analysis; Three-dimensional printing; Tracking; unobtrusive wearable; Wearable computers
• ISSN: 2472-8322
• DOI: 10.1109/SSCI52147.2023.10372003

Gait analysis is becoming increasingly central in various fields such as biomechanics, medicine, and sports. This complex study assesses how individuals walk, weighing in on aspects like bone alignment, joint range of motion, and neuro-muscular activity. Its profound importance emanates from its capability to identify potential walking anomalies at an early stage, which can offset the need for invasive medical interventions and offer valuable insights for clinicians to make well-informed decisions. Inspiration for this in-depth gait analysis research was sourced from previous attempts that employed tools like step mats and cameras to track and analyze movement. Several design imperatives were consolidated within this framework, including the vital need of user safety, assuring comfort throughout usage, preserving system stability, and the undoubtedly significant feature of keeping the insole lightweight. These priorities were not merely for user comfort but were essential for the fidelity of the data being captured. In this paper, it is described the design and optimization processes of an insole for gait analysis following an agile methodology which involves the following stages: requirements, design, implementation and testing. This study delves deeply into the challenges of designing, implementing, and optimizing instrumented insoles for gait analysis. The requirements were successfully achieved by creating a 3mm-thick, flexible insole using TPU 95 material through 3D printing. This insole effectively encapsulates electronic components, ensuring comfort, durability, and safety.