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A Novel Smart Shoe Instrumented with Sensors for Quantifying Foot Placement and Clearance during Stair Negotiation

Authors :
Malarvizhi Ram
Vasilios Baltzopoulos
Andy Shaw
Constantinos N. Maganaris
Jeff Cullen
Thomas O’Brien
Patryk Kot
Source :
Sensors, Vol 23, Iss 24, p 9638 (2023)
Publication Year :
2023
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2023.

Abstract

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, p < 0.000) and foot clearance (r = 0.967, p < 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.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
14248220
Volume :
23
Issue :
24
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Sensors
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.7badb4f0bc054763b47bb81ae975c16b
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/s23249638