I-Corps: Rehabilitation Technologies using Smart Insoles and a Smartphone for Treatment of Children with Idiopathic Toe Walking

Award ID: 2224325

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of wearable technological advancements in the rehabilitation of children who toe walk (such as Idiopathic Toe Walking (ITW), Cerebral Palsy (CP) and children with autism). The proposed technology, consisting of computer vision algorithms in smartphones and smart shoe insoles, may enable the health care community to implement widespread gait evaluations as part of the clinical decision-making process. The long-term broader impact is the applicability of computer vision algorithms in medical diagnoses and foot contact assessment in patients with gait deficits. In addition, by providing access to large-scale objective data, gait patterns during toe walking that have previously been difficult to document objectively may become the basis for understanding the suitable options for clinical assessment, rehabilitation, and care of children. In addition, since 5% of children are diagnosed with toe walking, a potential product may have applications for home-based interventions. It is anticipated that cost of care for treating toe walking children may be reduced and quality of life may be improved. This I-Corps project is based on the development of computer vision algorithms for objective gait assessments and intervention using smart insoles. The proposed technology has potential for both societal benefits and technological advancements in rehabilitation for toe walking. The proposed technology uses a readily accessible smartphone application that may objectively quantify toe walking biomarkers and active ankle range for clinical decision-making. Over time, clinical decisions may be enhanced with increased accuracy in detecting more minor improvements in heel placements and efficient treatment of children who toe walk. In addition, the proposed system may be used to identify and track toe contact steps, detect foot angle at contact, and treat toe walking in children. The long-term objectives of this effort are to improve treatment outcomes and quality of life by replacing subjective clinical assessments with objective, information-rich evaluations and interventions. Integration of the smartphone camera-based gait analysis with smart insole based rehabilitation of children who toe walk may transform current clinical practice by providing accurate and objective information regarding foot progression and reducing the long-term cost of toe walking rehabilitation and care. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman