A novel instrumented outsole for real-time foot kinematic measurements: validation across different speeds and simulated foot landing

The unavailability of a reliable and affordable gait assessment system for quantifying gait abnormality is responsible for the slow and inaccurate diagnosis of gait disorders. This study explores the feasibility of using a low-cost lower limb kinematics estimation device for clinical applications. The low-cost lower limb kinematics estimation device used in the study consists of an instrumented outsole (IO), an instrumented insole (II), and an artificial intelligence model (foot2hip). The low-cost system was compared with the standard system for reconstruction errors. Four analyses were performed to understand the nature of performance variability concerning clinically relevant parameters, including automated-gait assessment score (A-GAS). The study’s results suggest that the proposed system is unsuitable for detailed gait analysis (in the swing phase). However, the device can be used for personal use for tracking global gait abnormalities, and for clinical use in the screening of patients. The results of the analyses will help the users of the proposed system in framing the optimum data collection protocol.