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چکیده
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Background: The high plantar pressures (PPs) is an important risk factor for individuals with different foot types. The offloading devices currently available utilize as an insole primarily passive techniques, whereas PP distribution dynamically shifts from high PP areas to different areas of the foot during walking gait. Thus, the sole technology devices should be improved to redistribute the high PPs, dynamically. Aim: This study aimed to create an intelligent sole system in sports shoes which measures PPs in real-time and adapts its height in the heel regions to redistribute high PP areas. Methods: The intelligent footwear consists of a sole system in which the pressure-offloading modules, batteries, and piezoresistive sensors as well as a height-adjustable off-loading device were placed. The system is designed to detect automatically the location of PPs in the three areas of the heel and correspondingly adjust the height of the insole mechanically according to the user’s pressure needs. To test the module’s performance to reduce PP in the three areas of the heel, PP was measured at the middle area of the heel contour when the height of the heel was being changed automatically in three levels (0, +2, and -2 mm) during ten times standing positions. Results: The sole system measured load of 14 N, which corresponds to 180 kPa at the heel center at 0 mm. when the height of the sole at the heel center was increased to 2mm, the load raised to 16 N (205 kPa) during the tests. However, it decreased to 11.5 N (148 kPa) when the height was set at -2 mm. Conclusions: The presented intelligent sole system is designed to detect automatically the high PP at the heel and redistribute it with a height-adjustable off-loading device. The technological and adherence aspects of the footwear will continue to be tested and improved through clinical trials.
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