An Electronic Baropodometer Implementation and New Methodology for Assessing the Risk of Fall of Hemiplegic Patients

Abstract

The foot is an important proprioceptive organ that transmits static and dynamic forces to body, captured from their contact with the ground as part of a system of postural control based on intrinsic coordination with the vestibular system, vision and tactile information. The weight-bearing legs, upright posture, can be performed by pressure sensors distributed on a platform, a system known as electronic baropodometry. In this study the objective is to develope a improved system for measuring the distribution of body weight on the feet, based on an earlier version developed at the Sensors Laboratory of the Department of Electrical Engineering, UNESP - Ilha Solteira, which received assistance from FAPESP, Process No. 2006/07298 -1. This new version will allow the acquisition of a greater amount of plantar pressure points and to develop a equipament more robust and reliable. The system will consist of sensors in a matrix distribution on a platform with signal conditioning circuit, data interfacing circuit and a personal computer. The information will be present on the screen of a computer to make easy specialists, mainly physicians, physiotherapists and occupational therapiststhe visualization. With the proposed equipment will be possible to investigate clinically the conditions studied Podiatry, Posturology and Podoposturology, making with the information captured by the system, methodologies most appropriate for treatments.