I-Corps: Translation Potential of Wearable Biomechanics Assessment for Mobility Evaluation

Award ID: 2639055

This I-Corps project is based on the development of a wearable system that measures how the body moves during walking and everyday activity. Millions of people recovering from orthopedic and neurological conditions need objective assessment of how they move, yet this measurement requires specialized motion-analysis laboratories that are large, costly, and available in only a small number of facilities. Because such laboratories are out of reach for most patients, movement is often judged by subjective observation, leaving clinicians without precise, repeatable information to guide care. This technology addresses that gap by building force sensors directly into footwear and using computational models to translate the signals into a detailed picture of how the legs and joints move. The applications include rehabilitation, orthopedics, sports medicine, remote patient monitoring, and workplace safety, where demand is rising for objective, accessible tools that measure physical function outside specialized clinics. In addition, this may lower the cost of care, support earlier detection of mobility problems, and enable personalized rehabilitation. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of a wearable biomechanical assessment platform that reconstructs joint-level kinematics and loading from high-density, high-speed plantar force sensing. Conventional plantar-pressure systems report only low-dimensional measures such as peak pressure or center-of-pressure, while laboratory motion capture requires cameras, markers, and fixed infrastructure. This technology combines a spatially dense, rapidly sampled sensing array embedded in footwear with data-driven and physics-informed models that reconstruct higher-order, joint-level biomechanical information without cameras, markers, or laboratory environments. Research has demonstrated that clinically meaningful joint-level kinematics and loading can be inferred from plantar force and timing data alone, preserving biomechanical fidelity while enabling deployment during unconstrained, real-world movement. Users may benefit from objective, repeatable mobility measurement that can be performed in clinics, homes, and everyday settings, to allow the capture of meaningful biomechanical data. 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