Patent ID: 7794505

Claim:
A method of providing information to a user of a device associated with a limb, comprising: providing a prosthetic device associated with a limb of a user, wherein the prosthetic device comprises a flexible foot member configured to bend during locomotion by the user, the prosthetic device having at least one flexible sensor associated therewith, the at least one flexible sensor comprising an elongated strip adhered to a top surface of the flexible foot member and extending in an anterior/posterior direction along both sides of a bending axis of the flexible foot member; measuring with said at least one flexible sensor resistance corresponding to bending of said flexible foot member while in use by the user, wherein a bending of the at least one flexible sensor corresponds to a bending of the flexible foot member; and identifying a state in a gait of the user based on an output of the at least one flexible sensor that corresponds with said measuring of the resistance corresponding to said bending of the flexible foot member; and outputting information relating to the state in the gait of the user.