You could try a pressure film. Fuji prescale is one example. You buy it by the roll, usually in lengths of between 3 m and 10 m, depending on the pressure range. You will need a rough idea of the expected pressure. It is wireless, but can only be used once. You can cut it to size so a roll would make a decent amount of them. I think the price is about €400 depending on supplier.

Ursula, if you look at the literature, most studies have been carried out using either the Novel Pedar or the Tekscan F-Scan systems. I won't discuss here what system is better, anyway the sensor technology they offer is quite different (capacitive or resistive). Both companies offer telemetry. The cost should be something like 10.000 USD for the wireless system and roughly the half if you select the "wired" option.

Hello Ursula, the most often used pressure insoles are from Novel. They are considered as godd tool for their precise. Maybe disadvantage can be relatively high price.

In Tekscan F-Scan system there is available a dataloger option instead wireless connection. For research of elders you probably don't need the on-line readings, dataloger and off-line results will be probably enough.

i just reviewed a grant application where the investigators planned to use Biofeedback 100A device, which costs about $3,000 (Aus$) - it seems to be used more for feedback, as the name implies.

Ursula!

You can find instrumented insoles by novel, Tekscan, and other commercial vendors, but these are quite expensive - If you can afford them I can advise you further.

In the 1990's, we had to construct our own insoles + plantar pressure data acquisition system - but mind you that this can take several months to develop!

You can check some of our papers describing this system and they are available on my account page.

Please let me know if you need further help.

Ursula

The pedar system, by Novel, is considered an accurate tool and it is an advantage that you should take in count.

Novel supposed to be one of the best but because of its thickness gives you wrong measurements as it measures not the real pressure at the feet. For me the best system is the FSCAN bkz it is thin and if you know how to calibrate it correctly you can have a good relative pressure as absolute pressures are useless.....especially when you have a thick inshoe like pedar. I know the FSCAN also has error due to hysteresis, humidity, temperature and bending effect but if you know how to calibrate it properly at least it gives you real pressure values and no a total of pedar-shoe-foot pressure ...... But both they are the only good systems in the market. I prefer FSCAN even i wrote a very bad publication about it, as it was the beggining of the TEKSCAN sensors, later I found how to calibrate it correctly. DONT FORGET THE ADVANTAGE OF THE SMALL THICKNESS

I have a BEng (Hons) Mechanical Eng,BSc in Podiatry , MSc in Bioengineering, MSc in Podiatry and PhD in Pdiatric Biomechanics at Strathclyde University and I was one of the pioneers studying plantar pressures with Marylin Lord, Sue Barnett, Peter Cavanagh, Betts etc. I constructed a inshoe plantar pressure system using FSR technology and I use PEDAR, TEKSCAN, VICON, Dynamic pedobarograph, Harris Beath Mat. To be honnest the Harris Beath Mat seems the best in terms of pressure pattern and I made a control study with Dynamic Pedobarograph which is the best system for barefoot analysis

There are several commercially available systems (some of which are listed here). Ideally your research question/ outcome measure(s) within your project should drive the choice of the system.

Are you still looking for a solution ? We may have a suitable option for you: as a trauma surgeon I am involved in the development of a new amublant device. Please e-mail me for further information,

kind regards

Taco Blokhuis

Hi, I am also looking for wireless insoles with inertial and pressure sensors. Please let me know if you have already found it. Kind regards, Arif

This is a solution:

https://www.tekscan.com/products-solutions/systems/f-scan-system

We have developed a wireless insole sensor for measurement of gait. This device, named SensiStep (Evalan, Amsterdam, the Netherlands), has been validated and we are building increasing evidence for its use, both in monitoring and in providing feedback. It is the only system available that is reliable, ambulant, and capable of providing real-time feedback. This combination of features makes it, in my view, advantageous over other systems. You can find some more background info in the following manuscripts:

- Real-time visual biofeedback to improve therapy compliance after total hip arthroplasty: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Raaben M, Vogely HC, Blokhuis TJ. Gait Posture. 2018 Jan 31;61:306-310. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2018.01.038 PMID: 29413802

- Real-time visual biofeedback during weight bearing improves therapy compliance in patients following lower extremity fractures. Raaben M, Holtslag HR, Leenen LPH, Augustine R, Blokhuis TJ. Gait Posture. 2018 Jan;59:206-210. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2017.10.022. Epub 2017 Oct 20. PMID: 29078134

- Technical Aspects and Validation of a New Biofeedback System for Measuring Lower Limb Loading in the Dynamic Situation. Raaben M, Holtslag HR, Augustine R, van Merkerk RO, Koopman BF, Blokhuis TJ. Sensors (Basel). 2017 Mar 22;17(3). pii: E658. doi: 10.3390/s17030658. PMID: 28327505

I hope this information helps,

kind regards

Taco Blokhuis

Hi all,

Does anyone know the prices for all the above-mentioned systems?

thanks

Eduardo

Check this product https://www.tekscan.com/advance-your-practice-f-scan

The Orpyx LogR is a great plantar pressure measurement tool that is easy to use and can be used outside of a lab setting. https://orpyx.com/pages/logr Full disclosure I am the director of product management at Orpyx. If anyone would like more information, feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Hi,

Please have a look at the links below. I assume that they could be extremely useful regarding your research purpose.

https://www.tekscan.com/products-solutions/systems/strideway-system

https://www.tekscan.com/applications/footwear-research-and-development-f-scan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWStI50EAVs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbTucljBTJ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB4UE0vSZTM

Please do let me know your comments and thoughts. I would be more than happy to provide further details, analyses and explanations if you wish. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions, updates or concerns. Best wishes,

Konstantinos Angeloudis Research Assistant in Applied Biomechanics & Muscle Mechanics School of Science and Technology  London Sport Institute Middlesex University T: +44 748 237 8336 E: [email protected]

Hey Mr. Angeloudis I am the representative of TEKSCAN company if you need any collaboration. Also I would be most grateful if you could tell me if you are getting involved with EMG tests? Thank you

Dear Dr Christos Nikolopoulos

Thank you for your interest and nice to read from you, with such interesting research ideas.

I would just like to kindly ask you to provide an electronic address (email) in order to send you the information you requested above.

Thank you very much for your time and concentration.

Best regards,

[email protected]

http://www.movesole.com/en/

Consult for the company and done some testing and seems an interesting option... Gives data from 7 sensor (3 heel, 1 lateral midfoot, 2 forefoot, 1 hallux).

You can set thresholds and the system is wireless. Cost roughly under 1000 euros for pair of insoles (discussable). The data can be get the Android platform also.

I have developed insole based gait analysis system. See the attached picture...

I think force sensitive resistors like RP-C18.3 thin film FSR pressure sensor will do the trick. Use small scale prototyping board with a bluetooth module ( Eg. Nano V3.0 ATmega328P Microcontroller and HC-06). Very easy and cost effective. If you are really interested I will post some details about it. Cheers!!

FsR sensors if you don't know what to do it is not the perfect solution

Christos Nikolopoulos

Thanks for the heads up. You are right on that. But if carefully calibrated, still it is an easy and economical way to estimate the pressure. And here is a typical application. https://www.tekscan.com/application-group/embedded-sensing/sports-fitness

U. Costa

Hi there,

Perhaps these insoles will be of use to you-

https://smartinsole.net/sennofit/

Hi, U. Costa

Check this Product which is very useful for your purpose:

https://www.zflomotion.com/sensor-insoles-wireless

loadsol from novel GmbH is a nice tool.

Hi all,

thanks for all the comments. Here is a quick check to evaluate if a system is useful in research or not:

- First test: Stand on the platform or the in-shoe sensor and check that the measuring system displays your body weight within 5 - 10% without having entered it into the software beforehand.

- Second test: Walk 100 steps with the in-shoe measuring system and measure your body weight again - has it changed less than 5% compared to the initial value? Does the measuring sole adapt well to a moulded footbed or does it bend in the process?

In general this is a good checklist:

A measuring system is suitable if: 1. the drift of the measuring signal is low (e.g. with capacitive or resistive sensors)

2. has a hysteresis that is as low as possible/suitable for the measurement (e.g. capacitive or piezo sensors)

3. has a constant displacement force curve (e.g. capacitive sensors).

Therefore resistive sensors are NOT suitable for measurements with more than 5 measuring cycles. Piezo sensors are NOT suitable for measurements where the force is applied both dynamically and statically.

Researchers use our Stridalyzer sensor insoles for a wide range of projects that require gait analysis. Completely wireless and comfortable to wear, our insoles transfer rich data via Bluetooth to the app in real-time. We also offer API and SDK to create your own specific requirements. I hope this is helpful! Visit www.retisense.com for more details on our range of smart insoles.

We just published a narrative review on this item: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32778903/

Hope this helps, kind regards Taco Blokhuis

Moticon sensor insole (wireless & UHF radio wave-based and can signal more than 10 meters )

For reliable data there is only one real option: novel.de/loadsol or novel.de/pedar