Feetmap: A Plantar Pressure Mapping Device

Abstract

The following is the report of the project titled “FeetMap: A plantar pressure mapping device”. Foot plantar pressure is the force per area that is exerted between the foot and the floor during every day loco motor activities. Data gained from such pressure readings is critical in gait analysis for identification of lower limb issues, footwear style, sport biomechanics, injury prevention and alternative applications. Locomotors activities are a vital portion of routine human life. Feet undergo high plantar pressures during the daily activities of running, walking, which in some cases lead to lower limb problems, pain, callus, foot ulceration. Balanced pressure distribution can prevent many feet related diseases. The project aims at developing a low-cost, portable, efficient real time plantar pressure measuring platform which has diverse applications for sports, rehabilitation and biomedical diagnostic applications. One of the primary applications of FeetMap is the diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy which is a nerve disorder caused by diabetes, in which patients develop foot ulcers. The regions prone to ulcers exhibit high plantar pressures. This fact enables FeetMap to diagnose neuropathy at a very early stage and assist the doctor for timely treatment. FeetMap includes a platform housing an array of force sensing resistors which quantify the foot pressure in real time as a person walks over. The microprocessor interfaced with this platform receives the analog pressure inputs which then digitizes it and hands over it to a computer software. The software is designed keeping in view the convenience of user. It displays the data as intensity map of foot indicating pressure exerted by various foot regions.