Design and evaluation of a smart insole: Application for continuous monitoring of frail people at home

The objectives of this work are to develop a technological solution designed to support active aging of frail older individuals and to conduct a first evaluation of the devices. We wish to bring a reflection in the field of connected health by setting up a remote medical follow-up. In this context, the connected object presented in this article aims at implementation a longitudinal follow-up of the walk by a health professional. Continuous remote data analysis applies behavior learning methods by modeling walking habits and allows the detection of deviations by application of thresholds defined by the expert. We propose an instrumented shoe insole to provide such monitoring (number of steps, distance covered and gait speed). In this perspective, we designed a low power microelectronic device integrated into the thickness of an insole in order to demonstrate the technical feasibility of such a device in laboratory and in living conditions. The project called “FOOT-TEST” is funded by the DIRECCTE of the Midi-Pyrenees Region in France. This project brought together a manufacturer who specializes in the design of foot-care systems, geriatricians and our laboratory specialized in electronics to propose a technical solution adapted to frail individuals. Two smart insole prototypes have been produced and a first evaluation of the smart insole in real use conditions has been performed. According to user feedback, the smart insole seems to be much easier to use than commercial connected pedometers. Moreover, in terms of performance, the smart insole provides better results. In this paper, we present specifications of the device, technological choices and the design of two versions of the smart insole, methods used to measure desired settings, a first evaluation of the system and, finally, preliminary conclusions and work in progress.