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Biomechanics Gait Analysis Lab
Operator’s Manual
By Kimberly Carr, Omar Chawiche, Angela Ensor
Team 3
Client Contact: David Kaputa &
Dr. John D. Enderle University of Connecticut
Biomedical Engineering Department Bronwell Building, Room 217C
260 Glenbrook Road Storrs, Connecticut 06269-2247
Phone: (860) 486-5521
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IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
Accurate gait measurements from the footswitch and FSR insoles can be obtained reliably when done properly. Please read the appropriate sections of the Biomechanics Gait Analysis Laboratory Owner’s Manual thoroughly before performing any of the laboratory exercises.
1. Do not tamper with the transmitter or receiver. Any tampering with the contents of these devices may damage the quality of the data transmission/reception.
2. Do not leave the transmitter and receiver powered on
for long periods of time when they are not in use. This will drain the batteries of their charge.
3. Do not tamper with the footswitch or FSR insoles. Any
tampering with the contents of these devices may damage the sensors as well as the quality of data measurements.
4. Make certain that the 5-pin LEMO male connector from
the footswitch insole and 4-pin LEMO male connector from the FSR insole are inserted into the counterpart LEMO female connectors correctly (make sure to line up the red dot on the male to the red area on the female).
5. Ensure the footswitch or FSR insole is placed
correctly inside of the Subject’s shoe or taped to the bottom of the Subject’s foot.
6. When performing either the FSR or footswitch insole
laboratory exercise, be sure to shorten and secure the connector cables to avoid a tripping hazard.
7. Only insert the appropriate 9 Volt and 3 Volt
batteries into the transmitter.
8. Do not alter the footswitch or FSR data analysis LabVIEW™ program.
9. Be sure to properly connect the footswitch data wires
from the receiver into the digital data inputs and the FSR data wires into the analog data inputs on the National Instruments BNC-2021 device.
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PARTS AND ACCESSORIES The following parts and accessories are included with the Biomechanics Gait Analysis Laboratory:
• Owner’s Manual • Black Adjustable Fanny Pack • 2 Male, Size 9, Footswitch Insoles (Right and Left)
• 2 Female, Size 7, Footswitch Insoles (Right and Left) • 2 Male, Size 9, FSR Insoles (Right and Left)
• 2 Female, Size 7, FSR Insoles (Right and Left) • Black Transmitter Box
• Black Receiver Box
• 2 Nine Volt Batteries
• 2 Three Volt Lithium Batteries
• National Instruments PXI-1031 device equipped with
PXI-8330 and PXI-6040E device cartridges • National Instruments BNC-2120 device
• 3 National Instruments LabVIEW™ Computer Programs: 1. Gait Analysis Footswitch Insoles System 2. Men’s Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR) Insoles System 3. Women’s Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR) Insoles System
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FEATURES The Biomechanics Gait Analysis Laboratory offers a variety of useful features for analyzing a Subject’s gait. Such features include:
• Innovative force sensitive resistor (FSR) insoles • Wireless transmission of total gait cycle data.
• Compact and portable design
• Original National Instruments LabVIEW™ computer
programs
• Capable of calculating the following gait parameters: Footswitch Insoles
total gait cycle duration stance phase duration swing phase duration time of toe contact time of 1st metatarsal contact time of 5th metatarsal contact time of heel contact total gait cycle length stance phase length swing phase length % of time on toe during stance phase % of time on 1st metatarsal during stance phase % of time on 5th metatarsal during stance phase % of time on heel during stance phase cadence total gait cycle velocity stance phase velocity swing phase velocity
FSR Insoles
weight distribution on toe during stance phase weight distribution on heel during stance phase
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Table of Contents Section Page Number Important Safety Instructions 2 Parts and Accessories 3 Features 4 Table of Contents 5 1.Introduction 6-31 1.1 General Overview of Device 6-19 1.2 Instructions for Using the Biomechanics Gait Analysis System 20-31
1.2.1 Instructions for Footswitch Insoles 20-28 1.2.2 Instructions for FSR Insoles 28-31 2. Maintenance 32-41 3. Technical Description 42-62 4. Troubleshooting 63-77
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1. Introduction 1.1 General Overview of the Device The Biomechanics Gait Analysis Laboratory (Figure 1) represents the upgraded gait analysis laboratory for use in the University of Connecticut’s Biomechanics Course. The upgraded lab will allow the student to gain a more hands on understanding of the hardware and applications of gait analysis, similar to the features found in a clinical setting of a gait analysis laboratory.
Figure 1: Complete Biomechanics Gait Analysis System
Footswitch Insole FSR Insole
Transmitter Receiver
NI PXI-1031 NI BNC-2120
Footswitch LabVIEW™ Program
FSR LabVIEW™ Program
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The new laboratory utilizes a number of different devices including footswitches insoles, force sensitive resistor (FSR) insoles, National Instruments devices, along with three National Instruments LabVIEW™ computer programs, that work together to measure the following gait parameters:
total gait cycle duration stance phase duration swing phase duration time of toe contact time of 1st metatarsal contact time of 5th metatarsal contact time of heel contact total gait cycle length stance phase length swing phase length % of time on toe during stance phase % of time on 1st metatarsal during stance phase % of time on 5th metatarsal during stance phase % of time on heel during stance phase cadence total gait cycle velocity stance phase velocity swing phase velocity weight distribution on toe during stance phase weight distribution on heel during stance phase
The footswitch insoles were purchased from B&L Engineering based out of Tustin, California (Figure 2)
Figure 2: B&L Engineering Footswitches
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The footswitches are to be worn as insoles in the Subject’s shoes or taped to the bottom of their bare feet. The footswitches will indicate the total time each foot is and is not bearing weight. The footswitches have contact areas in the Heel, Fifth Metatarsal, First Metatarsal, and Great Toe areas, to indicate when these areas of the foot are bearing weight (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Footswitch Contact Areas
The force sensitive resistor (FSR) insoles (Figure 4) were constructed using force sensitive resistor sensors from Tekscan, SOF® Comfort Insoles, black Gorilla tape, and ACE Red 1/16” Sheet Rubber.
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Figure 4: FSR Insole The FSR’s are to be worn as insoles in the Subject’s shoes or taped to the bottom of their bare feet. The FSR’s will indicate the weight distribution on the toe and heel during the stance phase of the gait cycle. The FSR’s have contact areas in the Heel and Great Toe areas, to indicate the applied pressure on these areas (Figure 5).
Figure 5: FSR Contact Areas
Top LayerBottom Layer
Duct Tape
Insole
Rubber
FSR
FSR
Left InsoleDesign
Lead
Wire
s
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To send the data from the footswitches and FSR insoles to the computer, a telemetry system was developed. The transmitter (Figures 6-8) uses a 418 MHz frequency to transmit the data from the insoles to the receiver (Figure 9-11).
Figure 6: Transmitter Schematic
Figure 7: Transmitter PCB and Components
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Figure 8: Transmitter Box
Figure 9: Receiver Schematic
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Figure 10: Receiver PCB and Components
Figure 11: Receiver box
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The receiver connects directly to the National Instruments BNC-2120 device (Figure 12), which is connected to the National Instruments PXI-1031 (Figure 13) device through the PXI-6040E device cartridge.
Figure 12: National Instruments BNC-2120 device
Figure 13: National Instruments PXI-1031 device
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The National Instruments PXI-1031 device is then directly connected to the computer through the PXI-8330 device cartridge. To analyze the data from the footswitch and FSR insoles in real-time, three LabVIEW™ computer programs were developed (Figures 14-19).
Figure 14: Footswitch Insoles LabVIEW™ Program Front Panel
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Figure 15:Footswitch Insoles LabVIEW™ Program Block Diagram
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Figure 16: Men’s FSR Insoles LabVIEW™ Program Front Panel
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Figure 17: Men’s FSR Insoles LabVIEW™ Program Block Diagram
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Figure 18: Women’s FSR Insoles LabVIEW™ Program Front Panel
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Figure 19:Womens FSR Insoles LabVIEW™ Program Block Diagram
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1.2 Instructions for Using the Biomechanics Gait Analysis Laboratory System 1.2.1 Instructions for Footswitch Insoles: 1. Place the footswitch insole inside of the Subject’s shoe
(Figure 20) or tape it securely to the bottom of their foot.
Figure 20: Footswitch Insole
2. Place the transmitter box into the black fanny pack
(Figure 21).
Figure 21: Transmitter Box in Fanny Pack
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3. Place the fanny pack around the Subject’s waist (Figure
22).
Figure 22: Placement of Fanny Pack
4. Tighten the fanny pack strap to secure the transmitter into place (Figure 23).
Figure 23: Tighten Fanny Pack Strap
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5. Connect the 5-pin male LEMO connector from the
footswitch insole properly into the female connector on the transmitter box (Figure 24); make sure to match up the red areas.
Figure 24: Footswitch Connection to Transmitter Box
6. Zip-up the fanny pack until the transmitter is fixed into place.
7. Connect the footswitch output data wires from the
receiver box to the National Instruments BNC-2120 device digital I/O ports. Connect the white ground wire to the D GND input, blue Toe data wire to the P.0.0 input, blue 1st Metatarsal wire to the P.0.1 input, blue 5th Metatarsal wire to the P.0.2 input, and blue Heel wire to the P.0.3 input using a screw driver to secure them into place (Figure 25).
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Figure 25: Footswitch Output Wire Connection 8. Mark a start line on the floor where the subject’s heel
will first make contact. 9. Turn ON the Transmitter and Receiver boxes (Figure 26).
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Figure 26: Telemetry ON/OFF Switch
10. Open the Gait Analysis Footswitch Insoles System LabVIEW™ Program (Figure 14).
11. Run the LabVIEW™ program. 12. Press the ON button in the block diagram to start
footswitch data collection. 13. Have the Subject walk one complete gait cycle, heel to
heel of same foot (Figure 27). When pressure is applied to a sensor, the graph for that sensor should change from 0 to 1.
Figure 27: Complete Gait Cycle
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14. Press the OFF button on the block diagram to end
footswitch data collection and press the stop button to end the LabVIEW™ program.
15. Turn OFF the transmitter and receiver boxes. 16. Measure the distance (m) from the start line on the
floor to the subject’s heel after the complete gait cycle (Figure 28).
Figure 28: Measure Total Gait Cycle Length 17. Open up the Toe, 1st Metatarsal, 5th Metatarsal, and Heel
LVM files in Microsoft© Excel (Figure 29). Delete the entire 1st and 3rd column of zeroes, so that you have the sensor data in the 1st column and the time data in the second. Change the time data column format so that the values are displayed as a number value, not a scientific one (Figure 30).
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Figure 29: Original Toe Sensor Data File
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Figure 30: Corrected Toe Sensor Data File
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18. In this chart, the 1st column is the sensor data, when pressure is applied to the sensor the output is 0 and when no pressure is applied to the sensor the output is -1. From this information, input the following values into the footswitch data area of the LabVIEW™ program front panel (blue = input values, black = output values):
Time @ First Toe Contact Time @ Last Toe Contact Time @ First 1st Metatarsal Contact Time @ Last 1st Metatarsal Contact Time @ First 5th Metatarsal Contact Time @ Last 5th Metatarsal Contact Time @ First Heel Contact Time @ First Heel Contact (Swing Phase) Time @ Last Heel Contact (Stance Phase) Total Gait Cycle Length Stance Phase Length/Shoe Size
19. Run the LabVIEW™ program. 20. Press the Calculate Footswitch Data button in the block
diagram. 21. Stop the LabVIEW™ program. Footswitch Data Calculation Complete! 1.2.2 Instructions for FSR Insoles: 1. Place the FSR insole inside of the Subject’s shoe
(Figure 31) or tape it securely to the bottom of their foot.
Figure 31: FSR Insole
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2. Place the transmitter box into the black fanny pack
(Figure 21).
3. Place the fanny pack around the Subject’s waist (Figure 22).
4. Tighten the fanny pack strap to secure the transmitter
into place (Figure 23). 5. Connect the 4-pin male LEMO connector from the FSR
insole properly into the female connector on the transmitter box (Figure 32); make sure to match up the red areas.
Figure 32: FSR Connection to Transmitter Box
6. Zip-up the fanny pack until the transmitter is fixed into place.
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7. Connect the FSR output data wires from the transmitter
box to the National Instruments BNC-2120 device analog inputs. Connect the blue Toe data wire from the transmitter to the AI.0 input and the yellow Heel wire to the AI.1 input using the appropriate connector cable. Remember to connect the black alligator clips to ground from the receiver box. (Figure 33).
Figure 33: FSR Output Wire Connection
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8. Mark a start line on the floor where the subject’s heel
will first make contact. 9. Turn ON the Transmitter and Receiver boxes (Figure 26). 10. Open either the Women’s Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR)
Insoles or Men’s Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR) Insoles LabVIEW™ Program (Figures 16 & 18).
11. Press the button to True if the Subject is wearing the
left insole and leave it at False if the Subject is wearing the right insole.
12. Run the LabVIEW™ program. 13. Have the Subject walk one complete gait cycle, heel to
heel of same foot (Figure 27). 14. Press the stop button to end the LabVIEW™ program. 15. Turn OFF the transmitter and receiver boxes. 16. Open up the Test data LVM file in Microsoft© Excel. 17. Record the maximum force exerted by the subject on the
toe and heel during the gait cycle. FSR Data Calculation Complete!
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2. Maintenance Battery life: We have used two kinds of batteries in our project, the 3 volt lithium battery and the 9 volt battery (Figure 34).
Figure 34: Batteries Used in the Project The lithium battery combines a very light weight material with chemical features that make it suitable for the design of high voltage batteries. It gives a virtually constant voltage over the discharge period, allowing them to be used in sensitive electronic equipment. The 3 volt lithium batteries could last up to 10 years. Another advantage of using this type of batteries is that, it could operate in a wide range of temperature from -30°C to +60°C. The 9v battery we used also has its advantages, it offers the longest lasting power source of all primary batteries over a range of sizes, and it can operate in a temperature range between -30°C to 55°C.
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Battery Replacement
1. Turn both of the switches off
2. Open the top of the boxes using a screw driver.
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3. For the 3v lithium battery, pull up on one side of the battery.
4. For the 9 volt battery pull up and backward, towards the end part of the battery.
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5. Place the 3v lithium battery in the right orientation, where the small circle is facing down, and place the cover back on along with the screws. 6. Connect the 9v battery in correct orientation and place the cover back on along with the screws.
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Static Do not expose the boxes to static electricity. The electrical components within the boxes are very sensitive and you could possibly damage them. Cleaning
- Turn the switch off - Using a piece of soft cloth and surface cleaner,
wipe the dirty area of the case
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- Dry the cleaned area with a soft cloth
- Keep electrical leads clean - Keep the boxes in a dust free environment.
Note:
- Avoid bending the pins on the male serial connectors. Bending the pins will result in the connector no longer fitting with the female one.
- Do not try to place foreign objects into the female
LEMO connector, because it will cause damage to the connector.
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Environmental 1. Water: Do not expose the transmitter/receiver boxes or any of the other parts to water. This device is not water proof. If exposed to water the device will be damage and should not be turned on after for safety reasons.
2. Temperature:
- The device should not be exposed to high
temperature. That may cause damage to the device. - The device should not be exposed to extreme cold
that could damage it.
- The device should be used in room temperature.
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3. Humidity
The device should not be exposed to high humidity that could cause damage to it.
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Storage The device should be stored at room temperature and under the conditions stated before when not in use, preferably in a storage closet.
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The footswitches and force sensitive resistor insoles are made out of a layer of polyethylene-foam wrapped with black Gorilla tape, making them waterproof and temperature resistant to a certain degree. Maintenance Overview Do
• Keep electrical leads clean • Keep the boxes in a dust free environment • Avoid bending the pins on the male serial connectors
Don’t
• Expose the devices to high temperature • Expose the devices to high humidity • Expose the devices to water • Expose the devices to static electricity
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3. Technical Description The Biomechanics Gait Analysis Laboratory equipment consists of Force Sensitive Resistor Insoles, Footswitch Insoles, insole driver circuits, Telemetry devices, and National Instruments BNC-2120 and PXI-6040E in the PXI-1031 box. The Force Sensitive Resistor Insoles and Footswitch Insoles are powered through the drive circuit, which is part of the transmitter telemetry device. The transmitter device sends the signal to the receiver telemetry device, which is connected to the BNC-2120. The BNC-2120 receives analog or digital signals and relays the signals to the PXI-6040E, which provides the data to the LabVIEW® software program in a computer. Since the system begins with input from the insoles, a detailed description of the insoles will be given first, followed by the remaining equipment in order as listed above. Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR) Insoles The FSR insoles are comprised of force sensitive resistors, sandwiched between cut-to-size shoe insoles and taped together with Gorilla brand duct tape. A diagram of an FSR insole is shown in Figure 35. Rubber disks are placed on either side of the sensing area to concentrate the force directly onto the sensing area to provide a better reading, which is indicated in Figure 36. The FSR has a three male square pin connector, also shown in Figure 36 and Figure 35. The middle connector is connected to ground and the two outer pins are used for the voltage supply input and the voltage output. The two outer pins can be either used as the input or the output. The force sensor is an extremely thin, flexible printed circuit. The force sensor is made of two layers of a polyester/polyimide substrate sheet. For each layer, conductive silver is applied, on top of which a layer of pressure-sensitive ink is applied. An adhesive joins the two layers of substrate together to complete the force sensor. The active sensing area is outlined by the silver circle around the pressure-sensitive ink, which can be seen in Figure 36. The silver lines extend from the sensing area to the two outer connector male square pins to form the leads.
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The sensors act as a force sensing resistors in an electrical circuit, so that when it’s unloaded, the resistance is quite high, and when it’s loaded, the resistance is rather low. The resistance will vary as the sensor is loaded and unloaded. Using a digital multimeter, the resistance or force can be read by connecting the probes to the outer two pins, and then apply a force to the sensing area. The digital multimeter must be turned on and the dial set to the resistance or voltage reading option. The FSRs can range up to 1000 lbs by reducing the resistor value and/or voltage of a driver circuit, which is used in this design, shown in Figure 35, and will be described next.
Figure 35: FSR Insole design
Top LayerBottom Layer
Duct Tape
Cut-to-size shoe Insole
Rubber Disks
FSR
FSR
Left InsoleDesign
Lead
Wire
s
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Figure 36: FlexiForce FSR® (force sensitive resistor)
FSR Insole Driver Circuit The output voltage from the force sensitive resistor is relayed to the drive circuit, where it goes through three inverting operational amplifiers (TL072), then run to the microprocessor (PIC16F874), where it is converted from analog to digital data before it can be transmitted via telemetry. The FSR output voltage can range about 5V, but the microprocessor can only receive up to 5V. In order to make the FSR voltage output range between 0V-5V so the microprocessor can receive the data, we need to use three inverting operational amplifiers (TL072), which is show in Figure 37. The inverting amplifiers require a +9V and –9V power source in put at pins 8 and 4, respectively. The first inverting amplifier consists of the force sensitive resistor, with a varying resistance, and an 8.99KΩ reference resistor. This amplifier should have a positive output voltage on pins 1 and 7. The second inverting amplifier will have a 9.82kΩ input resistor and a 2.65kΩ reference resistor to give an inverse gain of -2.65. This amplifier should have a negative output voltage on pins 1 and 7. Then the third inverting amplifier will have equally valued input resistor and reference resistor to give a gain of -1, making the final inverse gain of the last two inverting amplifiers 2.65. So, the final output voltage should be positive on pins 1 and 7. Equations for each inverting amplifier are given in Figure 39. The input from the heel and toe sections of the FSR insoles come into pins 2 and 6, respectively. The output to the BNC-2120, described in the National Instruments section, for the heel and toe comes from pins 1 and 7 on that last inverting amplifier depicted in Figure 37. In order to use telemetry for the FSR insoles, they must be connected to the microprocessor through Pin 2 and Pin 3, shown in Figure 38. The microprocessor requires a 5V power source input at pin VDD. The microprocessor is capable of
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10-bit analog-to-digital conversion. Analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion is the method of converting an analog voltage into a discrete digital count of ones and zeros, which can be transmitted by the telemetry system. Unfortunately, due to changing our project, there was not enough time in the last semester to troubleshoot the A/D program part of the design, so it is not currently working. Instead, the FSR insoles are connected directly to the BNC-2120, through the transmitter box.
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Figure 37: Transmitter Telemetry Device: Drive Circuit for FSR Insoles Outlined in Blue. Footswitch Insoles in Green
Driver Circuit for FSR Insoles
Driver Circuit for Footswitch Insoles
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Figure 38: Microprocessor Circuit for FSR Insoles (PIC16F873)
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Figure 39: Inverting Amplifier Equations as Shown in Figure 37 Shown in Figure 40, male 4-pin LEMO (FGG.0B.304.CLAD52Z) connectors were used to connect the lead wires from the FSR insoles to the transmitter box. The lead wires were soldered into the holes, which can be seen in the rear view drawing in Figure 40c.
Figure 40: Male 4-Pin LEMO Connector The following table gives the dimensions for the LEMO connector shown in Figure 40.
A B
DC
Equation for 1st Inverting Amplifier
V(RHeel)1 = -VFSR(R6/RFSR) Eq.1
Equation for 1st Inverting AmplifierV(RHeel)2 = -V(Rheel)1(R9/R8) Eq.2Equation for 1st Inverting AmplifierV(RHeel)3 = -V(Rheel)2(R13/R12) Eq.3
Definition of VariablesRFSR Force Sensitive ResistorR All other resistors are numbered according to fig. 3.3V(Rheel)X X represents output of matching inverting amplifierVFSR Output Voltage from FSR
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Metric A L M S1 S2 mm. 9.5 35.0 25.0 8.0 7.0 in. 0.37 1.38 0.98 0.31 0.28
Table 1: Measurements for figure 3.6A The male LEMO connector fits to the female LEMO connector (ECG.0B.304.CLL), which is attached to the printed circuited board in the transmitter box and shown in Figure 41 below.
Figure 41: Female LEMO Connector The following table gives the dimensions for the LEMO connector shown in Figure 41. Metric A B e E L M N S1 S3 mm. 12.0 12.5 M9X0.6 5.5 20.7 2.5 19.1 8.2 11.0in. 0.47 0.49 - 0.22 0.81 0.10 0.75 0.32 0.43
Table 2: Measurements for figure 41A Calibrating the FSR Insoles Devices that measure force require calibration, which is the process by which force is related to the output voltage as the resistance varies with changing force. Using the Tinius Olsen machine in compression, the following is the procedure for calibration and requires two people to perform.
1. Place one half of an insole between two hard plastic plates
2. Place them between the two grips on the Tinius Olsen machine and a pad in the larger empty spaces, so pressure is applied evenly.
A B
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3. Make sure that the sensor end of the FSR is in the middle of the grips, for even force application.
4. Set-up two speeds on the Tinius Olsen machine, speed 1 at 0.01 and speed 2 at 0.005 (see manual for Tinius Olsen machine to set-up speeds)
5. Hook up the insole to the transmitter telemetry device, attach probes from a digital multimeter to the output of the receiver box, and turn on both telemetry boxes.
6. On person starts speed 1, and calls out the force every 10 lbs starting at 40 lbs, while the other person writes down the output voltage reading. At 200 lbs select speed 2, and continue until 350 lbs is reached.
7. Turn all devices off when done From this data determine the FSR resistance value at each voltage reading, using the equations in Figure 39, and divide the resistance by 1 to get conductance. Using the conductance data and its matching force output, plot conductance vs. force in Excel and use linear regression to extrapolate the equation that will relate output force to conductance. Footswitch Insoles The footswitch insoles consist of four compression closing switches, at the heel, 1st metatarsal, 5th metatarsal, and toe, as shown in Figure 42. These switches act as an open or closed electric circuit, which requires an input of 5 volts. When pressure is applied to the switches, two rubber cylinders contact pieces of brass sheets on each side of the insole, which acts to close the electric circuit, as shown in Figure 43. The only information that this will provide is that pressure is being applied and the length of time that pressure is applied. This will not show variations in applied pressure. The footswitches can provide velocity, cadence, stride length, and information on gait cycle, single limb support, swing, and stance. The footswitches do not need to be calibrated, which is a difficult and lengthy process. The drive circuit for the footswitch insoles is simply a +9V battery connected to a voltage regulator to reduce the input voltage to +5V, which is shown in Figure 37. The footswitches are connected to the transmitter with a pull-down resistor in between. The pull-down resistor is need
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to supply a very small voltage (less than 0.01V) because the transmitter cannot process no input and would send a default number which causes the program to give erroneous outputs. The pull down resistor set-up is shown in Figure 44.
Figure 42: Footswitch diagram
Footswitch Length
Fore Foot Width
Great Toe
5thM
etat
arsa
l
1st M
etat
arsa
l
Great Toe1s
t Met
atar
sal
5th Metatarsal
RightHeel
Left Heel
Heel Width
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Figure 43: Open and Closed Circuit diagram
Figure 44: Pull-Down Resistor Set-up The LEMO connectors for the footswitches are similar to the FSR insoles, except they have five pins instead of four. The footswitches were purchased from B&L Engineering and came with the male LEMO connectors attached. The male LEMO connector (FGG.0B.305.CLAD52Z) is shown in Figure 45.
Open Circuit(No Pressure Applied)
Closed Circuit(Pressure Applied)
No current
10kO
Footswitch Input
Output to Transmitter
DC
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Figure 45: Male LEMO Connector The following table gives the dimensions for the LEMO connector shown in Figure 45.
Metric A L M S1 S2 mm. 9.5 35.0 25.0 8.0 7.0 in. 0.37 1.38 0.98 0.31 0.28
Table 3: Measurements for Figure 45A The female LEMO connector was soldered to the printed circuited board in the transmitter box and is shown in Figure 46. The layout for the lead input is shown in Figure 47, which shows the sections of the foot coming into each pin as well as the input voltage.
Figure 46: Female LEMO Connector
A B
DC
A B
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The following table gives the dimensions for the LEMO connector shown in Figure 46.
Metric A B e E M Nmax S1 S3 mm. 12.0 12.5 M9X0.6 2.4 2.5 18.3 8.2 11.0in. 0.47 0.49 - 0.09 0.10 0.72 0.32 0.43
Table 4: Measurements for Figure 46A
Figure 47: Female LEMO Lead Wire Layout Telemetry The purpose of telemetry is to reduce the amount of wires and allow the freedom of movement that cannot be achieved using wires that are directly connected to a computer. The telemetry system is comprised of a transmitter box and receiver box. The transmitter box includes the 418MHz transmitter/encoder chip (TXE-418-KH), 10-pin dip switch (SDA10H1KD), and 418MHz Splatch antenna (ANT-418-SP-1), which is shown in Figures 48-49. The box also has the circuitry that provides the data to be sent wirelessly. The receiver box has a 418MHz receiver/decoder chip (RXE-418-KH), 10-pin dip switch (SDA10H1KD), and 418MHz Splatch antenna (ANT-418-SP-1), which is shown in Figures 50-51. The receiver/decoder chip is also wired to connect to the BNC-2120, which will be described later in the National Instruments equipment section. The transmitter/encoder and receiver/decoder are powered by a 3V coin battery at pin 5 for both chips.
Common (Vo)
Toe
1st Metatarsal
Heal
5th Metatarsal
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Figure 48: Transmitter Circuit Schematic
Telemetry: Transmitter Set-up
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Figure 49: Transmitter PCB Schematic
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Figure 50: Receiver Circuit schematic
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Figure 51: Receiver PCB Schematic
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The 418MHz transmitter/encoder chip and Splatch antenna was purchased from Linx Technologies and are shown in Figure 52. The transmitter receives the analog data and evaluates it using binary, true or false, assessment, which determines if it’s receiving a signal or not. The evaluation by the transmitter generates a series of zeros and ones, which is then encoded, sent through the 10-pin dip switch, and finally sent by the antenna to the receiver box. The transmitter and receiver set-up must both be at the same frequency or the signal will not be received. The frequency of the antennas must be the same, but the type of antenna can be different. The transmitter/encoder allows for the secure transmission of up to 8 parallel binary outputs and has 310 address lines for security. The signals from the footswitches are sent to pins 7-10 on the transmitter/encoder, shown in Figure 48. If the FSR insoles were made wireless, the data would be input into pin 2. When the pressure is applied to a section of the footswitch, the input to the transmitter on that line should show about 3V and nearly 0V if no pressure is applied. As explained previously, the pull-down resistor provides a very small voltage input (less than 0.001), which is determined to be a false signal by the transmitter. The Splatch antenna in the receiver box picks up the radio frequency signal sent by the transmitter antenna, and then sends the data to the 10-pin dip switch, which can only receive data that came from a dip switch with the same pin setting to reduce unwanted data from other radio frequency devices operating at the same level. If the settings match, the data is sent to the receiver/decoder, which was also purchase from Linx Technologies and shown in Figure 52. The data is decoded and sent to the BNC-2120 by wires that are soldered to the receiver outputs on pins 7, 8, 9, and 12, shown in Figure 50. If the FSR insoles were made wireless, the data would be output from pins 2 and 3.
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Figure 52: A)418MHz Splatch Antenna; B)10-Pin Dip Switch; C)418MHz Transmitter/Encoder; D)418MHz Receiver/Decoder National Instruments Equipment The data acquisition devices used are the National Instruments BNC-2120 and PXI-6040E, which is housed in the PXI-1031, shown in Figures 53, 54, and 55, respectively. The BNC-2120 is a shielded connector block that connects the up to 8 analog and 8 digital inputs to the PXI-6040E. The FSR input signals are connected to the BNC-2120 using BNC connectors, which have a red lead that connects to the wire that extends from the FSR driver circuit and the black lead, is connected to ground. The footswitch output wires, extending from the receiver box, are attached to the digital inputs on the BNC-2120. The BNC-2120 sends the data through a DAQ Card connector cable to the PXI-6040E. The PXI-6040E is a data acquisition device that performs high speed continuous data logging and supplies the data to the computer to be received and displayed using the LabVIEW® 8.1 program’s data acquisition assistant (DAQ Assist) module, which creates, edits, and runs task that allows manipulation and displays of the data received.
A B
C D
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Figure 53: National Instruments BNC-2120
Ana
log
Inpu
tsD
igital Inputs
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Figure 54: National Instruments PXI-6040E
Figure 55: National Instruments PXI-1031
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4. Trouble-Shooting
Problem Possible cause How to fix it 1.
After turning the switch on, there is no voltage going through
Dead batteries
Turn switch off, replace batteries, and turn it back on, if still not working, means that something is damaged
2.
After changing the batteries, still no voltage is going through
switch is damaged or battery wires are disconnected
Replace the switch with a new one, or resolder the battery wires
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3.
If no output is coming out of the footswitches
LEMO connectors are damaged, or wires are disconnected, or pull down resistor are burned
Replace or fix the LEMO, or solder new wires, or replace the resistors
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4-
If no output coming out of the FSR's LEMO connectors are damaged, or disconnected wires, or one of the Op Amps is burned
Replace or fix the LEMO, or solder new wires, or replace the Op Amps
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5.
If the output voltage is negative voltage regulator is damage Replace the voltage regulator
6.
If the LabVIEW™ program is not showing any readings
The output wires from the receiver box are disconnected, or the PXI1031 box is off
Reconnect the wires correctly to the BNC2120 board, or turn on the PXI1031 box
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7.
If the footswitches and the FSR's are working but the transmitter is not receiving any information
The transmitter is burned Replace it with new transmitter of the same frequency
8.
If the receiver box is not getting any information The receiver itself is damaged
Replace the receiver with a new one of the same frequency
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9.
If you replaced the receiver but still not getting anything Either one of the antenna is damaged Replace the Antenna with new
one of the same frequency
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10.
If LabVIEW™ program is not working properly
The PXI1031 box was off after the computer was on
Turn off the computer, start the PXI1031 box first, than turn back on the computer
11.
If everything inside the box are working but you still can't get anything out of the FSR's
The sensors inside the insoles are damaged
Get new sensors and built new insole following the steps we mentioned earlier
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12.
If everything inside the box is working but you still can’t get anything out of the footswitches
The switches inside the insoles are damaged
You can try to fix it but we suggest that you replace the whole thing
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13.
If the male LEMO connector is not fitting into the female one The pins of either one is bent
Try to bend it back to its original place, and if not, replace the connector
14.
If the circuit board is working properly but the receiver not getting the complete information
The address for the transmitter is most likely not matching the receiver one
Adjust the address so its exactly the same
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15.
LabVIEW program not receiving information from four switches wires are disconnected
Make sure that all the wires are in the right place in the BNC2120 board
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16.
If LabVIEW program still not working The BNC2120 board is not connected properly to the PXI1031 box
Reconnect the cable coming between the BNC2120 board and the PXI1031 box
17.
If LabVIEW program is giving strange values for the time Wrong format for values in Excel sheet
Make sure to convert the time format from scientific notation to number values
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18.
If the output is showing weird numbers
The wires inside the box are crossing over or touching different components
Relocate the wire so they don’t get in contact with anything else
19.
If the output of the FSR's is negative the third Op Amp is damaged Replace the Op Amp with new one and make sure its in the right direction
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20.
If the circuit is working fine but the output of the FSR's is not what you expected
Problem of connection Check the wires coming out of the insoles and resolder if needed