Abstract

In this work, a new custom wireless capacitive step sensor and a real--time algorithm are proposed to detect the start and end of the swing phase of the gait to trigger the stimulation in Functional Electrical Stimulator devices (FES) for Drop Foot. For this, an array of capacitive pressure sensors was designed to detect patterns of the gait swing phase through the Heel Center of Pressure (HCOP). The proposed system recognized all the events with an average error of 20.86±0.02[ms] for the heel strike (initial contact) and 27.60±0.03[ms] for the heel--off (final contact) compared with lower--back accelerometer, constituting a viable, robust and promising alternative as a step sensor for functional electrical stimulators.