Objective: The purpose of this study was to optimize the number and positions of foot pressure sensors using the reliability analysis of the center of pressure (COP) in smart shoes.
Background: Foot pressure can be different according to foot regio...
Objective: The purpose of this study was to optimize the number and positions of foot pressure sensors using the reliability analysis of the center of pressure (COP) in smart shoes.
Background: Foot pressure can be different according to foot region, and it is important which region of the foot pressure needs to be measured.
Method: Thirty adults (age: 20.5±1.8 years, body weight: 71.4±6.5kg, height: 1.76±0.04m) participated in this study. The foot pressure data were collected using the insole of Pedar-X system (Novel GmbH, USA) with a sampling frequency of 100Hz during 1.3m/s speed walking on the treadmill (Instrumented treadmill, Bertec, USA). The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated between the COP positions using 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 99 sensors, while one-way repeated measure ANOVA was performed between the standard deviation (SD) of the COP positions.
Results: The medio-lateral (M/L) COP position using 99 sensors was positively correlated with the M/L COP positions using 6, 7, and 8 sensors; however, it was not correlated with the M/L COP positions using 4 and 5 sensors during landing phase (1~4%) (p <.05). The antero-posterior (A/P) COP position using 99 sensors was positively correlated with the A/P COP positions using 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 sensors (p <.05). The SD of the COP position using 99 sensors was smaller than the SD of the M/L COP positions using 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 sensors (p <.05).
Conclusion: Based on our findings, it is desirable to arrange at least 6 sensors in smart shoes.
Application: The study of optimizing the number and positions of foot pressure sensors would contribute to developing more effective smart shoes using foot pressure technology.