Mobile foot-force measurement system for dynamic gait stability analysis

老年人和身体残疾者的生活质量在很大程度上取决于他们能否自由行走而不用担心摔倒。在将老年人安置在养老院或长期护理中心期间，通常由护理人员（如护士和物理治疗师）评估老年人以稳定的方式行走的能力。由于行走稳定性差是老年人跌倒的主要原因，因此在更换药物、髋关节手术恢复、配装腿部支架或特殊鞋类或改变环境后，评估老年人行走稳定性也很重要。为了最大限度地提高他们的安全性、独立性和生活质量，这一点很重要。目前，护理人员评估行走稳定性的方法依赖于对一个人执行某些任务的能力进行主观评价的方法，或者基于一个人执行任务的时间的容易出错的方法。所提出的设备是一个鞋垫足力测量系统，测量和记录当一个人走路时作用在脚底上的许多点上的力。获得该系统将允许验证一种新的方法来评估可能有一些不稳定的人的稳定性，例如身体残疾的人和老年人。通过测量行走时作用于足部的力，并将指示不稳定性的各种不同参数合并为一个指标，可以对稳定性进行更客观、准确和可靠的评估。获得足力测量系统将允许专门为老年人口验证这种新方法。它还将用于研究和设计新的鞋类，目的是在脚和身体变得不稳定时稳定脚。这项研究有望减少老年人和残疾人的滑倒和跌倒事件，并降低医疗保健费用。

The quality of life of elderly and people with physical disabilities greatly depends on their ability to walk freely without the fear of falling. The ability of elderly to walk in a stable manner is commonly assessed by caregivers - such as nurses and physiotherapists, during placement of an elderly person in a residence for seniors or a long-term care centre. As poor walking stability is a major cause of falls in elderly, assessment of the stability of elderly in walking is also essential following a change of medication, recovery from hip surgery, fitting of a leg brace or special footwear, or change of environment. This is important in order to maximize their safety, independence, and quality of life. Current methods of assessing walking stability by caregivers relies on subjective methods of rating a person's abilities to perform certain tasks, or error-prone methods based on timing a person in carrying out a task.The proposed equipment is a shoe-insole foot-force measurement system that measures and records the forces acting at numerous points on the sole of the foot when a person is walking. Acquisition of the system will permit verification of a new method to assess stability in people who may likely have some instability, such as people with physical disabilities and elderly. By measuring the forces acting on the foot during walking, and combining various different parameters that indicate instability, into a single index, a more objective, accurate and reliable assessment of stability can be made. Acquisition of the foot-force measurement system will permit verification of this new approach specifically for the elderly population. It will also be used in the research and design of new footwear aimed to stabilize the foot when the foot and body become unstable. This research is expected to lead to reduced incidents of slips and falls in elderly and people with disabilities, and reduced health care costs.