ECE 110/120 Honors Lab Section : Gait Corrective Solutions

Honors Lab Project Proposal

1. Introduction

1. Statement of Purpose
   To build a system to determine overpronation and supination in runners and provide real-time feedback for the promotion of healthy, safe, and efficient running technique. This method could potentially be an alternative to cost-prohibitive and time-consuming gait analysis.
   
   

2. Background Research
   Overpronation and supination while running can lead to serious injuries including shin splints, stress fractures, and various knee problems. Normally, to fix running form problems involving overpronation and supination, a video is taken of the runner by a coach and analyzed frame by frame. This procedure is slow, and expensive and is unattainable for most amateur runners.
   
   
   

2. Design Details

1. Block Diagram / Flow Chart

   

   
   
   
   

2. System Overview
   Retrieve pressure readings from the sensors, send the readings to ESP32 the board by a wired connection. There will be 2 to 4 pressure sensors embedded in the sole of the shoe located approximately midfoot. The sensors will be placed at opposite ends of the shoe so as to tell whether a greater pressure is applied to the outside of the shoe indicating supination or towards the inside indicating overpronation. The board sends the pressure data to the phone app, which processes the data and stores it as a time-series. After processing the data, a signal will be sent back to 2 feedback mechanisms (either a haptic motor or electrode) which will give the runner real time feedback on how to improve his/her gait (if the runner feels the buzz or shock on the left side of the foot, he/she will know to move his/her foot more right and vice versa). After the runner is finished running, he/she can open the app and go through a visualization of overpronation/supination during his/her run. The feedback will be given through a vibration motor which is attached to the runner's leg.

   Here is how the two sensors will be placed in the insole:

   

3. Taking measurements from the force sensors will be very simple using an ESP32 or any other Arduino board. The force sensor is simply a resistor and its resistance will vary depending on the force applied to it, which can be monitored and analysed using an Arduino.

4. Principle of working: before the run a person stands still while Arduino measures the distribution of the force through the force sensors and records it as the standard. If the runner's pronation is incorrect, there will be a different distribution of the force to when he stood still. In this case, we determine whether if it is supination or overpronation and give the runner the necessary feedback.

Why this will work:

By observing the wear pattern on shoes, it can be determined if said individual has a tendency to overpronate or supinate. An example is shown below. This wear pattern can only be achieved by an uneven force distribution which will be measured using two force sensors located on the inside and outside side of the insole.

Parts

• 2 pressure sensors per shoe

• ESP32 wireless communications board.

• 4 low power electrodes or haptic vibration motors

• battery

• Test running shoes with good cushioning (size 9)

• 22 AWG wires

• Exacto Knife

• Insoles.

Possible Challenges

1. References

1. Pressure Sensors - https://www.adafruit.com/product/166?gclid=CjwKCAiAp5nyBRABEiwApTwjXjitc1sUrCMbNlz6Vfh79KgCSOlgEu_-BvHD4e8vnawS1nXep7DH1xoCVBYQAvD_BwE