A Compact Wearable Sensor Package for Clinical Gait Monitoring

Abstract

We have developed a compact, wireless, wearable, shoe-mounted sensor package that is designed to provide continuous and real-time monitoring of gait for clinical biomotion analysis. This paper discusses the initial design of our hardware, consisting of a sensor-laden insole and a removable instrumented shoe attachment. Information about the three-dimensional motion, relative position, and pressure distribution of the foot is provided with real-time and wireless transmission of the data from the instrumented shoe attachment to a receiver connected to a nearby laptop or wearable PDA platform. Initial data collection demonstrates the capability of the sensor system to detect different types of gait. Currently, clinical gait analysis [1] is primarily done in either a motion laboratory, with full analysis of the motion of all body segments using highly accurate optical systems and a precision force-measuring plate mounted on a rigid floor, or in a doctor's office with the physician making visual observations. Analysis in a motion laboratory produces well-quantified and accurate results for gait over a short distance, while the results of visual observations are qualitative and difficult to compare across multiple visits or between differing physicians. However, a