The Amsterdam IoT specialist Evalan has developed a solution, called Stride, that measures foot pressure when a patient is walking. Stride consists of a foot pressure sensor and a wearable that collects and transmits the data. The solution provides important insights for patients with Parkinson’s or diabetes or patients who have had a stroke. Based on this, a personal therapy process can be set up.
Patients with Parkinson’s and diabetes often develop a foot problem, such as nerve damage or balance problems. Just like patients who have had a stroke, they often receive physiotherapy aimed at the obstruction. An important part of the treatment is practicing to properly unwind the foot.
The Stride sensor is placed as a sole in the shoe and indicates how the foot is placed and unwound. These measurements are sent to an app that shows the foot’s gait cycle and other parameters. A practitioner can monitor this remotely and see through the continuous measurements of how the patient is developing and what the exercise intensity is. In addition, the sensor also displays the center of pressure, the step duration, the step frequency and other related parameters. In this way, the therapist can provide just the right support that suits the patient and thereby accelerate recovery and slow disease progression.
Stride offers support for various situations, such as rehabilitation after strokes, muscle diseases and diabetes. It can also help orthopedic shoemakers to develop customized shoes. Application in a clinical trial is conceivable as well, whereby the system is used to collect data on the effectiveness of the intervention or treatment to be investigated.
