A Novel Smart Shoe Instrumented with Sensors for Quantifying Foot Placement and Clearance during Stair Negotiation
Trips and slips are significant causal perturbations leading to falls on stairs, especially in older people. The risk of a trip caused by a toe or heel catch on the step edge increases when clearance is small and variable between steps. The risk of a slip increases if the proportion of the foot area...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/24/9638 |
| _version_ | 1797379430262243328 |
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| author | Malarvizhi Ram Vasilios Baltzopoulos Andy Shaw Constantinos N. Maganaris Jeff Cullen Thomas O’Brien Patryk Kot |
| author_facet | Malarvizhi Ram Vasilios Baltzopoulos Andy Shaw Constantinos N. Maganaris Jeff Cullen Thomas O’Brien Patryk Kot |
| author_sort | Malarvizhi Ram |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Trips and slips are significant causal perturbations leading to falls on stairs, especially in older people. The risk of a trip caused by a toe or heel catch on the step edge increases when clearance is small and variable between steps. The risk of a slip increases if the proportion of the foot area in contact with the step is reduced and variable between steps. To assess fall risk, these measurements are typically taken in a gait lab using motion-capture optoelectronic systems. The aim of this work was to develop a novel smart shoe equipped with sensors to measure foot placement and foot clearance on stairs in real homes. To validate the smart shoe as a tool for estimating stair fall risk, twenty-five older adults’ sensor-based measurements were compared against foot placement and clearance measurements taken in an experimental staircase in the lab using correlations and Bland–Altman agreement techniques. The results showed that there was a good agreement and a strong positive linear correlation for foot placement (r = 0.878, <i>p</i> < 0.000) and foot clearance (r = 0.967, <i>p</i> < 0.000) between sensor and motion analysis, offering promise for advancing the current prototype into a measurement tool for fall risk in real-life staircases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:23:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7badb4f0bc054763b47bb81ae975c16b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:23:07Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-7badb4f0bc054763b47bb81ae975c16b2023-12-22T14:40:02ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202023-12-012324963810.3390/s23249638A Novel Smart Shoe Instrumented with Sensors for Quantifying Foot Placement and Clearance during Stair NegotiationMalarvizhi Ram0Vasilios Baltzopoulos1Andy Shaw2Constantinos N. Maganaris3Jeff Cullen4Thomas O’Brien5Patryk Kot6Research to Improve Stair Climbing Safety (RISCS), Faculty of Science, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UKResearch to Improve Stair Climbing Safety (RISCS), Faculty of Science, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UKFaculty of Engineering and Technology, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UKResearch to Improve Stair Climbing Safety (RISCS), Faculty of Science, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UKFaculty of Engineering and Technology, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UKResearch to Improve Stair Climbing Safety (RISCS), Faculty of Science, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UKFaculty of Engineering and Technology, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UKTrips and slips are significant causal perturbations leading to falls on stairs, especially in older people. The risk of a trip caused by a toe or heel catch on the step edge increases when clearance is small and variable between steps. The risk of a slip increases if the proportion of the foot area in contact with the step is reduced and variable between steps. To assess fall risk, these measurements are typically taken in a gait lab using motion-capture optoelectronic systems. The aim of this work was to develop a novel smart shoe equipped with sensors to measure foot placement and foot clearance on stairs in real homes. To validate the smart shoe as a tool for estimating stair fall risk, twenty-five older adults’ sensor-based measurements were compared against foot placement and clearance measurements taken in an experimental staircase in the lab using correlations and Bland–Altman agreement techniques. The results showed that there was a good agreement and a strong positive linear correlation for foot placement (r = 0.878, <i>p</i> < 0.000) and foot clearance (r = 0.967, <i>p</i> < 0.000) between sensor and motion analysis, offering promise for advancing the current prototype into a measurement tool for fall risk in real-life staircases.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/24/9638foot contact lengthwearable sensor insoleforce sensitive resistorfall risk prediction |
| spellingShingle | Malarvizhi Ram Vasilios Baltzopoulos Andy Shaw Constantinos N. Maganaris Jeff Cullen Thomas O’Brien Patryk Kot A Novel Smart Shoe Instrumented with Sensors for Quantifying Foot Placement and Clearance during Stair Negotiation Sensors foot contact length wearable sensor insole force sensitive resistor fall risk prediction |
| title | A Novel Smart Shoe Instrumented with Sensors for Quantifying Foot Placement and Clearance during Stair Negotiation |
| title_full | A Novel Smart Shoe Instrumented with Sensors for Quantifying Foot Placement and Clearance during Stair Negotiation |
| title_fullStr | A Novel Smart Shoe Instrumented with Sensors for Quantifying Foot Placement and Clearance during Stair Negotiation |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Novel Smart Shoe Instrumented with Sensors for Quantifying Foot Placement and Clearance during Stair Negotiation |
| title_short | A Novel Smart Shoe Instrumented with Sensors for Quantifying Foot Placement and Clearance during Stair Negotiation |
| title_sort | novel smart shoe instrumented with sensors for quantifying foot placement and clearance during stair negotiation |
| topic | foot contact length wearable sensor insole force sensitive resistor fall risk prediction |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/24/9638 |
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