According to Xinhua News Agency, elderly people often suffer from mobility issues and may accidentally fall, causing unintended injuries. The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland recently issued a research bulletin stating that they have developed a new type of step analyzer that can help prevent the risk of falls while walking in the elderly, and it also has potential uses in sports training and physiotherapy.
This step analyzer, named “Physilog4,” is only 9 millimeters thick, making it the smallest mobile inertial sensing system in the world. It functions like a mini laboratory, equipped with micro-sensors such as an accelerometer and gyroscope. It can be simply strapped onto a shoe and starts working instantly with just a light touch.
The device can record 10 parameters related to gait and walking within one minute, all of which are associated with the risk of accidental falls. The data is then transmitted to a computer software program via Bluetooth or USB interface. Through special algorithms, the software compares these data with normal gait parameters to predict the risk of falling and provide corrective suggestions.
Thanks to its lightweight design and adaptability to various foot types, this step analyzer has been used in training programs for ski jumping and swimming, proving especially useful for recording and analyzing athletic parameters.