Abstract

Peripheral neuropathy can result from diseases such as diabetes and also chemotherapy for cancer. This sensory loss can result in numbness and impairment of gait and balance. An electrocutaneous feedback system might help these patients to overcome these problems. The idea of such a device is to equip a shoe insole with force sensors that can detect pressure. The signals received by the sensor are processed and amplified in a suitable form and are redirected to an appropriate area of skin more proximal on the limb via an electrocutaneous feedback systems. In this work a low cost prototype is presented that represents a full functional electrocutaneous feedback system. The prototype uses 4 piezoresistive sensors that are placed on the insole of a shoe. The force sensors can detect the pressure that is applied to the foot. The electrocutaneous feedback is given through electrical pulses. The pulse amplitude and repetition frequency is fixed while the pulse length is controlled with the amplified signal for sensory feedback.