Foot Pressure Analysis Based on Flexible Thin Film Sensors

The distribution and changes in plantar pressure are closely related to human health, and can be used to assess the presence of foot diseases. Accurate assessment of plantar pressure distribution plays a preventive and diagnostic role in foot diseases. In order to achieve the function of assessing foot conditions through plantar pressure, the characteristics and differences in plantar pressure variation among different individuals were studied. Flexible and thin-film pressure sensors with array distribution were used to collect plantar data from both healthy individuals and diabetic patients. MATLAB was used to generate pressure distribution maps of average peak pressure, with different colors representing the intensity of pressure in different regions. Python was used to generate line graphs and pie charts. The line graph intuitively shows the pressure distribution in different regions of the foot, while the pie chart presents the proportion of each region’s pressure in the total pressure. Analysis revealed that approximately 50% of the body weight is borne by the heel during the weight-bearing process of standing, with higher pressure on the medial side of the heel compared to the lateral side. The other parts are borne by the first to fifth metatarsal bones. Significant differences were observed in peak plantar pressure between diabetic patients and healthy individuals. The experimental results demonstrate that this study can collect and analyze pressure at different parts of the foot, and identify any abnormal conditions. The study reveals the patterns of peak pressure distribution in the foot, thereby serving the prevention and monitoring of foot diseases, including diabetic foot.