title: Insole optical fiber Bragg grating sensors network for dynamic vertical force monitoring.
abstract: In an era of unprecedented progress in technology and increase in population age, continuous and close monitoring of elder citizens and patients is becoming more of a necessity than a luxury. Contributing toward this field and enhancing the life quality of elder citizens and patients with disabilities, this work presents the design and implementation of a noninvasive platform and insole fiber Bragg grating sensors network to monitor the vertical ground reaction forces distribution induced in the foot plantar surface during gait and body center of mass displacements. The acquired measurements are a reliable indication of the accuracy and consistency of the proposed solution in monitoring and mapping the vertical forces active on the foot plantar sole, with a sensitivity up to 11.06 ?? pm / N . The acquired measurements can be used to infer the foot structure and health condition, in addition to anomalies related to spine function and other pathologies (e.g., related to diabetes); also its application in rehabilitation robotics field can dramatically reduce the computational burden of exoskeletons’ control strategy. The proposed technology has the advantages of optical fiber sensing (robustness, noninvasiveness, accuracy, and electromagnetic insensitivity) to surpass all drawbacks verified in traditionally used sensing systems (fragility, instability, and inconsistent feedback).
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Telecomunicações, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, PortugalbCentro de Automática y Robótica, CSIC-UPM, Arganda del Rey, Madrid, SpaincUniversity of Aveiro, Department of Physics and I3N, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria Fátima
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Domingues
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Telecomunicações, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Cátia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tavares
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Telecomunicações, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, PortugalcUniversity of Aveiro, Department of Physics and I3N, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Cátia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leitão
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Espírito Santo, Department of Electrical Engineering, Goiabeiras, Vitória, Brazil.
authors.forename: Anselmo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frizera-Neto
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Telecomunicações, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, PortugaleUniversity of Aveiro, Centre for Mechanical Technology and Automation, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Nélia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alberto
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Telecomunicações, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, PortugalcUniversity of Aveiro, Department of Physics and I3N, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Telecomunicações, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ayman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radwan
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Telecomunicações, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.affiliation: Lisbon University Institute, ISCTE-IUL, Instituto de Telecomunicações, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Octavian
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Postolache
authors.affiliation: Centro de Automática y Robótica, CSIC-UPM, Arganda del Rey, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rocon
authors.affiliation: University of Lisbon, Instituto Superior Técnico, Instituto de Telecomunicações and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: André
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Telecomunicações, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, PortugalcUniversity of Aveiro, Department of Physics and I3N, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Antunes
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005528:Foot / Q000502:physiology*; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D055100:Optical Fibers; D011312:Pressure