Design of a mobile gait monitoring system

In this paper, a mobile gait monitoring system (MGMS) is proposed for the diagnosis of abnormal gait and rehabilitation. The proposed MGMS consists of Smart Shoes and a micro signal processor with a touch screen display. It monitors patients' gait by observing the ground contact forces (GCFs) and the center of GCF (CoGCF). Since visual feedback about patients' gait and normal GCF patterns are provided by the MGMS, patients can practice the rehabilitation treatment by trying to follow the normal GCF patterns without restriction of time and place. Also the GCF data are saved in a micro SD card, and the gait abnormalities (GA) are calculated after the rehabilitation treatment. The effectiveness of the proposed gait analysis methods with the MGMS have been verified by preliminary trials with patients suffering from gait disorders.