Apparatus for telemetering interaction forces between the foot and the ground in a subject walking

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring, in a walking subject, the vertical component (F b ) of the resultant of the forces of interaction between foot and ground and the co-ordinates of its point of application (frequently also referred to as centre of pressure) in a reference system integral with the foot comprises at least one insole (S) sensitive to the forces, which is inserted into a shoe, and a very light mobile unit (P,T) to be attached to the belt and which performs at least one pre-processing of the signals emitted by the sensitive insole and their teletransmission via radio to a processing unit (R,PC), which performs the final processing and shows the information. The sensitive insole (S) preferably consists of a matrix of force sensors of resistive type comprising 64 sensors. Taking into account the signals emitted by the sensors of the sensitive insole (S), the pre-processing unit (P) yields, instant by instant, the vertical component (F b ) of the resultant of the forces of interaction between foot and ground and the co-ordinates of its point of application.

Description: State of the art. Both at a research level and at a commercial one various sensitive insoles have been proposed, which comprise a number of sensors and must be inserted in a shoe for measuring the distribution of the forces under the foot. Such sensors are sensitive only to the vertical component of the force and, consequently, since the area taken by the sensors is known, they actually measure the pressure locally exchanged between the foot and the ground, and are therefore usually referred to as pressure sensors. Sensitive insoles always consist of a discrete set of sensors, whose number may vary from a few sensors (e.g., 16) positioned at points corresponding to characteristic points of the foot sole up to as many as a thousand of sensors positioned and arranged according to a matrix. The most usually used technology (because it is the least expensive one) produces sensors of resistive type in which the electric resistance is a decreasing function of the pressure; just to provide examples, the following may be cited: a sensitive insole with sensors spaced 5 mm apart (produced by the firm Tekscan Inc.), which is sold as an accessory (with a life limited to a few dozen measurements) of a complete measuring system which involves a cable connection with the subject; a sensitive insole (produced by the firm Interlink, involved only in the sale of sensors) consisting of a mylar film where 64 sensors are laid out, arranged according to a not altogether regular matrix. Finally, a sensor produced by the firm Interlink and proposed for realising push-button panels of special type is cited, which is suitable for measuring the magnitude and the position of a force in a plane. As expressly stated by the firm Interlink itself, this sensor cannot, however, be adapted and/or used for the production of sensitive insoles to be inserted in shoes. One form of presentation of the information of these devices consists simply of the image of the foot sole with superimposed thereon the responses of the individual sensors coded according to an arbitrary colours scale. It is possible to show both the successive instantaneous responses recorded at regular time intervals (with a lower limit of about 10 msec) and the maximum values measured by the individual transducers for the entire period in which the foot is pressing down. In any case, this type of presentation, which is a qualitative one, must be combined with numerical information if more precise evaluations are needed, such as those necessary for comparing results of different kinds of therapy and for following the effects thereof over time. A very effective synthesis of this type of information is obtained by representing on the foot sole the succession of the points of application of the resultant force of reaction of the entire foot associated, if possible, to the values of the vertical component of said force: due to the slight inclination of the resultant force of reaction with respect to the vertical, said values practically coincide with those of the resultant force of reaction. This result is obtained by processing (at each sampling instant) the responses of all the sensors taking into account their position in the matrix. This operation calls for a certain computation power and is therefore normally carried out off-line at the end of the data acquisition step. The sensitive insoles currently available allow the measurement of the distribution of the forces under the foot sole during the entire phase in which the foot is pressing against the ground, but the acquisition of the responses of all the sensors is, however, not compatible with the limited capacity of a telemetering channel, particularly if the aim is to keep costs down. It is therefore advantageous to pre-process the information to be transmitted by means of an electronic circuit which, once it has received the responses of all the sensors of the sensitive insole, supplies instant by instant a limited amount of information to be transmitted to the microprocessor. US 5,323,650 discloses a system comprising a force sensor array and an electronic circuit module for scanning the sensor array to obtain a measurement of the force sensed by each of the sensors. In the device to which the present invention refers, a pre-processing unit calculates the vertical component of the resultant of the forces of interaction between the foot and the ground, thus allowing an on-line monitoring via radiotelemetering. In this case, in fact, only three quantities need to be transmitted for each foot (the vertical component of the resultant force and the co-ordinates of its point of application) and a low-capacity and low-cost transmission channel is therefore suitable for this purpose. In fact, a transmission rate of the transmission channel of about 4800 bits/sec with a sampling frequency of 100 Hz and an 8-bit analog-to-digital converter are adequate. The acquisition of the responses of all the sensors would instead involve a data flow that would prove hard to handle for a radiotelemetering channel unless the number of sensors is very low. As an alternative to radiotelemetering, a cable connection or the storage on a local storage means would limit the duration of the observation times to a few minutes. The displacement of the centre of pressure during the time in which the foot is exerting pressure is sufficiently representative of the complexity of the foot-ground interaction and of its possible pathological alteration. Summary of invention The present invention refers to an apparatus for measuring the vertical component of the resultant force of the foot-ground interaction and of the co-ordinates (in a reference system integral with the foot) of its point of application, comprising at least one sensitive insole (to be inserted in a shoe) equipped with a number of force sensors of resistive type and a pre-processing unit associated to the at least one sensitive insole. The force sensors of resistive type are arranged in a matrix addressable by rows and columns, where one end of each row, respectively of each column of the matrix is connected to a generator supplying a voltage whose intensity is proportional to the co-ordinate of the row, respectively of the column in the aforesaid reference system, and the co-ordinates of the point of application of the vertical component of the resultant force are correlated to the voltage measured at the other ends of the rows, respectively of the columns, connected together in parallel. The vertical component of the resultant force is correlated to the intensity of the current supplied by a voltage generator connected to one end of the rows (or of the columns) of the matrix, connected together in parallel, when the other ends of the rows (or of the columns) of the matrix are connected to ground. The pre-processing unit comprises at least one logical unit and switching means activated by the logical unit and suitable for connecting the voltage generators to one end of the rows, respectively of the columns, and for connecting the other ends of the rows, respectively of the columns of the matrix to a scanning unit (in turn connected to the logical unit via an analog-to-digital converter), respectively to ground. List of figures The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to a nonlimiting embodiment shown in the attached figures, where: Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of an apparatus according to the invention; Figures from 2 to 5 show schematic circuit diagrams and a graph suitable for illustrating the working of an apparatus according to the invention; Figure 6 shows a schematic representation of the equivalent circuit of a sensitive insole S and a block diagram of the pre-processing unit P associated to it; Figure 7 shows a simplified flowchart to better illustrate the working of the logical unit 4 of Figure 6. Detailed description Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of an apparatus according to the invention. In Figure 1 there are shown two sensitive insoles S, the pre-processing units P associated to each sensitive insole S and the transceiver apparatus (T, R) which connects via radio the pre-processing units P to the processing unit PC, if present. The sensitive insoles S and the associated pre-processing units P will be described in greater detail with reference to the following figures. The transceiver apparatus (T, R) and the processing unit PC (which could be omitted if no further processing of the data pre-processed by the units P is required) will not be described herein since they are known and anyway outside the present invention. Figure 2 shows a schematic circuit diagram used for calculating a co-ordinate (conventionally the vertical one, x) of the point of application of the resultant force. The sensitive insole S is represented by a number of resistors, whose resistance is a function of the local pressure, arranged in a matrix addressable by rows and columns. Each row of the matrix is supplied by a generator supplying a voltage V i that is proportional to the co-ordinate x of the row in a reference system integral with the foot. In a preferred embodiment, these voltage generators V i are realised by means of a voltage generator connected to a resistance divider consisting of resistors whose values are sufficiently low that the equivalent impedance of the generators is negligible with respect to the minimum value of resistance resulting from the parallel of all the sensors connected to one row, assuming that they are simultaneously subject to the maximum pressure. Figure 3 shows the equivalent circuit of the diagram of Figure 2, where the conductance g i is the sum of the conductance of the sensors belonging to the i-th row of the matrix. The output voltage V x can be calculated as follows: Given: 1) g i = β • F i (the conductance of the i-th row is proportional to the force acting on the entire row), 2) V l = α • x i (the voltage applied to the i-th row is proportional to its co-ordinate in the above-mentioned reference system), by imposing the equilibrium of the currents at the node A we obtain 3) whence, by substituting Equations (1) and (2) in Equations (3), we obtain 4) From the above formula it is clear that the co-ordinate x b of the point of application of the vertical component of the resultant force is correlated to the voltage V x ; in particular, if the conductance of the sensors is linearly proportional to the pressures and therefore to the vertical components of the forces acting on the sensors, the co-ordinate x b of the point of application of the vertical component of the resultant force is proportional to the voltage V x .If the above procedure is repeated exchanging the rows of the matrix of sensors with the columns of said matrix, a voltage V y representing the co-ordinate y b of the point of application of the vertical component of the resultant force is calculated.Figure 4 shows a typical response of a resistive pressure sensor to a pressure cycle whose amplitude and duration are similar to those that may be encountered during walking. It is immediately found that, within the precision limits of these sensors (which are usually affected by large non-linearity and hysteresis), their conductance approximates a linear behaviour, especially in the ascending part of the cycle.It may then be concluded that the voltages V x and V y represent, with an approximation which is acceptable for the specific application, the co-ordinates of the point of application of the vertical component of the resultant force.A source of error comes from the presence of static loads (which are different from zero even in the resting situation) due mainly to the deformation stresses that the sensitive insole S undergoes as a result of its insertion in the shoe, or to the appearance of a known term in the relation that links the conductance of a sensor to the force acting on the sensor.In this case, the conductance of the i-th row is g i = β • F i + g i0 .Given the particular working of the sensitive insole S, said local stresses at rest (and/or said known term) give rise to an overall effect that can be represented by a pre-loading force F 0 applied in a point of co-ordinates ( x 0 , y 0 ): this is equivalent to a linear transformation of the reference system, which can be easily amended by applying the inverse transformation.Combining the pre-loading force F 0 with the force F b to be measured, we obtain 5) x r = F b · x b + F 0 · x 0 F b + F 0 where x r is the co-ordinate of application of the resultant force, and x b is the co-ordinate of the point of application of the force F b ; the resultant force F r is 6) F r = F b + F 0 . Deriving F b from Equation (6) and substituting in Equation (5), we obtain whence x b = x r - x 0 · F 0 F r 1 - F 0 F r ; Applying the translation of co-ordinates X = x - x 0 we have whence, given λ = 1 1 - F 0 F r = 1 + F 0 F b , finally we obtain 7) X b = λ • X r If we set the origin of the reference system in the point ( x O , y O ) where the pre-loading force F O is applied, the co-ordinate x b of the point of application of the force F b is obtained simply by applying the corrective factor λ to the measured value. It is moreover necessary to pay attention to the fact that the factor λ diverges for F b << F 0 : in other words, it may be said that, for small forces, X r is strongly attracted by the origin x O , and hence there is a large corrective factor required to re-establish the correct position. In order to prevent an amplification at the same time of the inevitable errors of measurement and of quantization included in X r , it is necessary to limit the application of Equation (7) to the cases where F b ≥ F O , which are markedly prevalent and more significant in practical applications. The measurement of the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force is obtained by measuring the current I which flows to ground in the schematic circuit diagram of Figure 5, where the generator which supplies the voltage V f is, preferably, different from the voltage generator to which (in a preferred embodiment of the invention) is connected a resistance divider for supplying each row, respectively each column of the matrix with a voltage proportional to the co-ordinate ( x ) of the row, respectively to the co-ordinate ( y ) of the column of the matrix. In fact, if the conductance of the i-th row of sensors is indicated by g i , we have The vertical component F b of the resultant force is thus correlated to the intensity of the current supplied by the voltage generator V f connected to one end of the rows of the matrix (which are connected in parallel together), when the other ends of the rows of the matrix are connected to ground. In particular, if the conductance of the sensors is linearly proportional to the pressure, and hence to the vertical component of the force acting on each sensor, the vertical component F b of the resultant force is proportional to the intensity of the current supplied by the voltage generator V f . Obviously, the principle continues to hold good if the rows are exchanged with the columns. Preferably, but not necessarily, the vertical component F b of the resultant force and the co-ordinates ( X b , Y b ) of its point of application determined via the schematic circuit diagrams of Figures 3 and 5 are further corrected to take into account the pre-loading forces. Figure 6 shows a schematic representation of the equivalent circuit of a sensitive insole S (represented by the corresponding matrix of sensors) and the block diagram of the pre-processing unit P associated to it, which comprises at least a logical unit 4 and switching means T (represented in Figure 6 by the MOS transistors T1-T6, which act as switches) activated by the logical unit 4 and suitable for connecting the voltage generators V cc (not explicitly shown in Figure 6) to one end of the resistance divider associated to the rows, respectively to the columns of the matrix, for connecting the voltage generator V f (not explicitly shown in Figure 6) to one end of the rows, respectively of the columns of the matrix, and for connecting the other ends of the rows and of the columns to the scanning unit 2 (connected to the logical unit 4 via the analog-to-digital converter 3), respectively to ground. The circuits (schematically shown by the schematic circuit diagrams of Figures 3 and 5) used to measure the co-ordinates ( x b , y b ) of the centre of application of the resultant force, respectively the vertical component ( F b ) of the force itself, are realised one at a time by the logical unit 4 (in a cyclical sequence whose frequency is corresponding to the wanted sampling frequency) by activating the switching means T (the MOS transistors T1-T6) according to the "activation matrix" shown in Figure 6 and loaded in tabular form into the memory of the logical unit 4. The logical unit 4 moreover acquires, through the scanning unit 2 and the analog-to-digital converter 3, the signals representing the co-ordinates (x b , y b ) of the centre of application of the resultant force, respectively the vertical component ( F b ) of the force itself, and sends them in serial form to the transmitter T. The operational amplifier 1, connected in inverting configuration, measures and converts into a voltage the current I which flows to ground, and supplies the voltage V f ,, in accordance with the schematic circuit diagram of Figure 5. The operational amplifier 1, the scanning unit 2 and the analog-to-digital converter 3 will not be further described because they are known. The working of the logical unit 4 will be better described with reference to the flowchart of Figure 7. Preferably, the pre-processing unit P is held in a self-supplied container, built in such a way that it can be worn by the subject, and teletransmits via radio the pre-processed digital data to the processing unit PC. Figure 7 shows a simplified flowchart which better illustrates the working of a logical unit 4, which carries out in order at least the following functional steps: when switched on or restarted (RESET; phase 70), after a preset and preliminary checking phase (INIZ; phase 71) the logical unit 4 enters a wait cycle (ATT; 72) which is periodically interrupted by the Int 0 routine (phases 700-711), activated (phase 700) by a timer (not explicitly shown because it is known) programmed to generate interrupts with a preset frequency F; after activation of the Int 0 routine (phase 700), the logical unit 4 resets the timer (RT; phase 701) before verifying (phase 702) the state of a counter (T xl ), which can assume 4 states, where the 0-state is associated to the transmission of a start-of-cycle synchronism character (SYNC) and the states 1-3 are associated to the acquisition from the sensitive insole S of the vertical component of the resultant force and of the co-ordinates of its point of application; if the counter T xl is in the 0-state, the logical unit 4 causes the transmission of the start-of-cycle synchronism character (SYNC; phase 703) before incrementing by one step the counter T xl (phase 704) and ending the Int 0 routine (END; phase 705); if the counter T xl is in a state other than the 0-state, the logical unit 4 drives the scanning unit 2 (US; phase 706) to acquire from the sensitive insole S the information (the vertical component of the resultant force or one of the co-ordinates of its point of application) associated to the state of the counter T xl ; activates (MOS; phase 707), according to the "activation matrix" shown in Figure 6 and loaded in tabular form into its memory, the MOS transistors T1-T6 which make up the switching means T and activates (A/D; phase 708) the analog-to-digital converter 3. In a preferred embodiment of the pre-processing unit P, the frequency F is equal to 7 • F 1 (where F 1 is the total sampling frequency for a system including one sensitive insole S) and the logical unit 4 carries out the further functional steps of: carry out (CV, phase 709) at least the correction due to the pre-loading force on the digital datum present on the output of the analog-to-digital converter 3; modify the digital datum present on the output of the analog-to-digital converter 3 if its digital value corresponds to the start-of-cycle synchronism character (SYNC); after the above correction phase (CV; phase 709), deactivate (MOFF; phase 711) the switching means T to reduce the power consumption of the pre-processing unit P; start (TD; phase 710) the teletransmission of the pre-processed digital data to the processing unit PC (if present) via the transmitter T; activate an universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART), not described herein because it is known, which automatically completes the teletransmission of the pre-processed digital data to the processing unit PC (if present) via the transmitter T during the wait cycle (ATT; 72) of the logical unit 4. To allow the study of the time relations between the applications of the soles of the two foots on the ground, an apparatus according to the invention may comprise two sensitive insoles S whose responses are acquired by a single pre-processing unit P: said apparatus differs from the previously described one by the fact that: the timer generates the interrupts, activating the Int 0 routine, with a frequency F equal to 7 • F 2 , where F 2 is the total sampling frequency for a system including two insoles; the counter T xl can assume 7 states, where the 0-state is associated to the transmission of the start-of-cycle synchronism character (SYNC), states 1-3 are associated to the acquisition of the vertical component of the resultant force and of the co-ordinates of its point of application from a sensitive insole S, and states 4-7 are associated to their acquisition from the other sensitive insole S; the logical unit 4 drives in order the switching means T relative to one, respectively to the other sensitive insole S and drives the scanning unit 2 to acquire in order the vertical component of the resultant force and the co-ordinates of its point of application from one, respectively from the other sensitive insole S. Also in the embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention suitable for managing two sensitive insoles S, the logical unit 4 carries out the correction phase (CV; phase 709), modifies (if necessary) the digital datum present on the output of the analog-to-digital converter 3, starts (TD; phase 710) the teletransmission of the pre-processed digital data to the processing unit PC (if present) via the transmitter T and activates the universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART). In a possible embodiment of the invention, the sensitive insole S and at least a part of the pre-processing unit P are built into a shoe to create a measuring apparatus which is practically imperceptible by the foot of the subject. Without departing from the scope of the invention, it is possible for a skilled person to make to the apparatus object of the present invention all modifications and improvements suggested by the ordinary experience and by the natural evolution of techniques.

Claims: Apparatus for measuring the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force of the foot-ground interaction and of the co-ordinates ( x b ' , y b ) of the point of application of the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force in a reference system integral with the foot, said apparatus comprising at least one sensitive insole (S), to be inserted in a shoe, equipped with a number of force sensors of resistive type, and a pre-processing unit (P) associated to the at least one sensitive insole (S); wherein the force sensors of resistive type belonging to the sensitive insole (S) are arranged in a matrix addressable by rows and columns; wherein one end of each row of the matrix is connected to a generator; wherein one end of each column of the matrix is connected to a generator; wherein the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force is correlated to the intensity of the current supplied by a voltage generator ( V f ) connected to one end of the rows (of the columns) of the matrix, connected together in parallel, when the other ends of the rows (of the columns) of the matrix are connected to ground; and wherein the pre-processing unit (P) comprises at least one logical unit (4) and switching means (T) activated by the logical unit (4) and suitable for connecting the aforesaid voltage generators to one end of the rows, respectively of the columns of the matrix and for connecting the other ends of the rows, respectively of the columns of the matrix to a scanning unit (2), in turn connected to the logical unit (4) via an analog-to-digital converter (3), respectively to ground; characterised in that: the generator connected to one end of each row of the matrix can supply a voltage whose intensity is proportional to the co-ordinate ( x ) of said row in the aforesaid reference system, the co-ordinate ( x b ,) of the point of application of the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force being correlated to the voltage measured at the other ends of the rows of the matrix connected together in parallel; the generator connected to one end of each column of the matrix can supply a voltage whose intensity is proportional to the co-ordinate ( y ) of said column in the aforesaid reference system, the co-ordinate ( y b ,) of the point of application of the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force being correlated to the voltage measured at the other ends of the columns of the matrix connected together in parallel. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the pre-processing unit (P) can teletransmit the pre-processed digital data to a processing unit (PC). Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the generators supplying a voltage whose intensity is proportional to the co-ordinate ( x ) of the row of the matrix of sensors to which each of them is connected are realised by means of a voltage generator and of a resistance divider connected to the voltage generator. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the generators supplying a voltage whose intensity is proportional to the co-ordinate ( y ) of the column of the matrix of sensors to which each of them is connected are realised by means of a voltage generator and of a resistance divider connected to the voltage generator. Apparatus according to Claim 1, where the conductance of the force sensors of resistive type is linearly proportional to the pressure, characterised in that the co-ordinates ( x b , respectively y b ) of the point of application of the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force are proportional to the voltage measured at an end of the rows of the matrix connected together in parallel, respectively at the end of the columns of the matrix connected together in parallel, when the other end of each row, respectively of each column of the matrix is connected to a generator supplying a voltage whose intensity is proportional to the co-ordinate (x, respectively y ) of the row, respectively of the column of the matrix to which said voltage generator is connected; and in that the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force is proportional to the intensity of the current supplied by the voltage generator ( V f ) connected to one end of the rows (of the columns) of the matrix, connected together in parallel, when the other ends of the rows (of the columns) of the matrix are connected to ground. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the current supplied by the voltage generator ( V f ) when the rows (the columns) of the matrix are connected to ground is converted into a voltage by an operational amplifier (1), belonging to the pre-processing unit (P), connected in inverting configuration. Apparatus according to Claim 2, characterised in that the pre-processing unit (P) is held in a self-supplied container, built in such a way that it can be worn by the subject, and in that the pre-processed digital data can be teletransmitted to the processing unit (PC). Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force and the co-ordinates ( x b , y b ) of its point of application are corrected to take into account the pre-loading force. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the logical unit (4) belonging to the pre-processing unit (P) carries out in order at least the following functional steps: when switched on or restarted, after a preset and preliminary checking phase (INIZ), the logical unit (4) can enter a wait cycle (ATT) which is periodically interrupted by a routine (Int 0 ) activated by a timer generating interrupts with a preset frequency (F); after activation of the routine (Int 0 ), the logical unit (4) can reset the timer before verifying the state of a counter (T xl ), which assumes at least 4 states, where the 0-state is associated to the transmission of a start-of-cycle synchronism character (SYNC) and the other states are associated to the acquisition of the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force and of the co-ordinates ( x b , y b ) of its point of application from the at least one sensitive insole (S); if the counter (T xl ) is in the 0-state, the logical unit (4) can cause the transmission of the start-of-cycle synchronism character (SYNC) before incrementing by one step the counter (T xl ) and ending the routine (Int 0 ); if the counter (T xl ) is in a state other than the 0-state, the logical unit (4) can drive the scanning unit (2) to acquire from the at least one sensitive insole (S) the information associated to the state of the counter (T xl ), can activate the switching means (T) and can activate the analog-to-digital converter (3). Apparatus according to Claims 8 and 9, characterised in that the logical unit (4) can further carry out the correction due to the pre-loading force on the digital datum present on the output of the analog-to-digital converter (3). Apparatus according to Claim 9, characterised in that the logical unit (4) can further modify the digital datum present on the output of the analog-to-digital converter (3) if the digital value of said digital datum corresponds to the start-of-cycle synchronism character (SYNC). Apparatus according to Claim 10 or to Claim 11, characterised in that , after the correction of the digital datum present on the output of the analog-to-digital converter (3), the logical unit (4) can deactivate the switching means (T). Apparatus according to Claims 2 and 9, characterised in that , after activating the analog-to-digital converter (3), the logical unit (4) can start the teletransmission of the pre-processed digital data to the processing unit (PC). Apparatus according to Claim 13, characterised in that the logical unit (4) can further activate an universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) which can complete the teletransmission of the pre-processed digital data to the processing unit (PC) during the wait cycle (ATT) of the logical unit (4). Apparatus according to Claim 9, characterised in that the preset frequency (F) is equal to 7 • F 1 , where F 1 is the total sampling frequency for a system including one sensitive insole (S). Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the vertical component of the resultant force ( F b ) and the co-ordinates ( x b , y b ) of its point of application are acquired from two sensitive insoles (S), one for each foot. Apparatus according to Claim 16, characterised in that the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force and of the co-ordinates ( x b , y b ) of its point of application are acquired from both sensitive soles (S) by a single pre-processing unit (P). Apparatus according to Claims 9 and 17, characterised in that : the timer can generate the interruptions, activating the routine (Int 0 ), with a frequency (F) equal to 7 • F 2 , where F 2 is the total sampling frequency for a system including two sensitive insoles (S); the counter (T xl ) can assume 7 states, where the 0-state is associated to the transmission of the start-of-cycle synchronism character (SYNC), the states 1-3 are associated to the acquisition of the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force and of the co-ordinates ( x b , y b ) of its point of application from a sensitive insole (S), and the states 4-7 are associated to the acquisition of the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force and of the co-ordinates ( x b , y b ) of its point of application from the other sensitive insole (S); the logical unit (4) can drive in order the switching means (T) relative to one, respectively to the other sensitive insole (S) and can drive the scanning unit (2) to acquire in order the vertical component ( F b ) of the resultant force and the co-ordinates ( x b , y b ) of its point of application from one, respectively from the other sensitive insole (S). Apparatus according to Claims 8 and 18, characterised in that the logical unit (4) can further carry out the correction due to the pre-loading force on the digital datum present on the output of the analog-to-digital converter (3). Apparatus according to Claim 19, characterised in that the logical unit (4) can further modify the digital datum present on the output of the analog-to-digital converter (3) if the digital value of said digital datum corresponds the start-of-cycle synchronism character (SYNC). Apparatus according to Claim 19 or Claim 20, characterised in that , after the correction of the digital datum present on the output of the analog-to-digital converter (3), the logical unit (4) can deactivate the switching means (T). Apparatus according to Claim 2 and 18, characterised in that , after activating the analog-to-digital converter (3), the logical unit (4) can start the teletransmission of the pre-processed digital data to the processing unit (PC). Apparatus according to Claim 22, characterised in that the logical unit (4) can activate an universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) which can complete the teletransmission of the pre-processed digital data to the processing unit (PC) during the wait cycle (ATT) of the logical unit (4). Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the sensitive insole (S) and at least part of the pre-processing unit (P) are built into the shoe.

Inventors: FADDA ANTONELLO, MACELLARI VELIO, FADDA, ANTONELLO, MACELLARI, VELIO
Applicants: IST SUPERIORE SANITA, ISTITUTO SUPERIORE DI SANITA'
Application year: 1997
Main classification: A61B5
IPC codes: G01L1, A61B5