This ultra-thin insole can tell doctors what’s wrong with your foot

Germany's Moticon Science is an insole that fits discreetly into athletes' shoes and delivers rich data to sports scientists.

Sports injuries come in all shapes and sizes, and even when it’s clear where the pain is, it’s much more difficult to determine the cause. While innovations such as the Sensoria smart sock have already been able to detect bad running habits, the new Moticon Science insole fits discreetly into athletes’ shoes and delivers rich data to sports scientists.

Created by Germany-based Moticon, the device is an ultra-thin layer that is laden with sensors and can fit into any shoe. When the insole is in place, it can measure weight distribution, motion patterns, force, timing and balance of the foot. Each Moticon Science kit comes with some a software and app that translates the data into easy-to-read graphs that detail how the foot is being used and if changes need to be made. The data can be safely transmitted and stored in the cloud with the Science Pro premium and advance packages. The kit could be useful both for athletes whose foot position and technique is important to their success, as well as clinical patients who have foot problems.

As well as enabling doctors and personal trainers to detect the cause of injuries, the Moticon Physio package can also give them information about the patient’s recovery process, allowing them to recommend the optimum therapy. This YouTube video shows how the sensor insole can be used for training analysis and athlete performance monitoring in top sports. Motion also offer an Ortho package, which enables dynamic pressure patterns to manufacture orthopedic insoles.

The Moticon kits comes with various different licenses and accessories, including auto video sync and auto report generation. Could similar wearable tech help doctors diagnose and treat physio problems in other areas of the body?