Micro-sensor for foot pressure measurement

The measurement of interface pressure between the foot and shoe is important in gait analysis and other health diagnosis. Abnormal pressure may indicate instability in gait, risks of ulceration development especially in diabetic foot as well as have many other biomedical diagnostic applications. However, the currently available foot pressure sensors show a number of weaknesses that limit their performance in the measurement of foot plantar pressure. This paper reports the design and analysis of a MEMS-based pressure sensor customized for foot pressure measurement. The maximum pressure measurement can be up to 2-MPa with high linearity across the proposed pressure range. These optimized characteristics show excellent potential for the sensorpsilas suitability for pressure measurement in a wide spectrum of biomechanical activities.