WI-SHOE · A novel Wireless, wearable Shoe-based system for real time monitoring of Energy Expenditure and Gait parameters for Sport and Medical Applications

Gait parameters monitoring and energetic expenditure (EE) calculation is of high importance for patients recovering from diseases that affect movement (e.g. stroke). The same applies to professional athletes either in the phase of recovery from a lower limb injury or performing a sport requiring precise body posture and movement control. Currently, gait parameters’ monitoring is made either using the physicians experience or specialised equipment that, apart from being expensive, requires the subject to wear a belt with a data acquisition system and cables running on his legs. The Wi-Shoe project aims in the development of a completely non-invasive wearable shoe-based system for measuring gait parameters and EE during walking. The system to be developed integrates miniature sensors in a custom designed sole for different shoe types. The project answers the actual need of the rehabilitation and sport sectors for a person-centric product that will allow continuous monitoring of the subject without an expert’s intervention, promoting the role of “home as care environment”. Data from the shoes is sent to a nearby Personal Device (e.g. Smartphone) for immediate basic analysis and warning generation. Data can be afterwards sent through a cloud application to a sector expert where novel analysis models are used to evaluate the subject’s status and performance. The SME participants will obtain the advantage of using and trading a unique product with clear benefits for rehabilitation and sport centres and most importantly for the end users (patients, athletes). The system will address key challenges faced by the SMEs: minimize the need for continuous expert assistance and consequently cost; improve the patient’s sense of independence; assist the expert in acquiring critical information about the subject’s status using a centralized system; allow precise identification of body posture deficiencies to improve athletic performance.