SONIGait: a wireless instrumented insole device for real-time sonification of gait

Abstract

The treatment of gait disorders and impairments are major challenges in physical therapy. The broad and fast development in low-cost, miniaturized, and wireless sensing technologies supports the development of embedded and unobtrusive systems for robust gait-related data acquisition and analysis. Next to their applications as portable and low-cost diagnostic tools, such systems are also capable of use as feedback devices for retraining gait. The approach described within this article applies movement-based sonification of gait to foster motor learning. This article aims at presenting and evaluating a prototype of a pair of instrumented insoles for real-time sonification of gait (SONIGait) and to assess its immediate effects on spatio-temporal gait parameters. For this purpose, a convenience sample of six healthy males (age $$35\pm 5~\hbox {years}$$ , height $$178\pm 4~\hbox {cm}$$ , mass $$78\pm 12~\hbox {kg}$$ ) and six healthy females (age 38 ± 7 years, height $$166\pm 5~\hbox {cm}$$ , mass: $$63\pm 8~\hbox {kg}$$ ) was recruited. They walked at a self-selected walking speed across a force distribution measurement system (FDM) to quantify spatio-temporal gait parameters during walking without and with five different types of sonification. The primary results from this pilot study revealed that participants exhibited decreased cadence (p < 0.01) and differences in gait velocity (p < 0.05) when walking with sonification. Results suggest that sonification has an effect on gait parameters, however further investigation and development is needed to understand its role as a tool for gait rehabilitation.