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The presented paper relates to the field of "smart textiles". A new type of knitted strain sensing elements (knitted resistive fabric (KRF)) which can be integrated in the smart garment was developed. KRF was produced from conductive resistive, nonconductive isolating and nonconductive elastomeric yarns. Elastomeric yarn was used as the base yarn and was knitted within the whole fabric, but isolating and resistive yarns (functional yarns) were used as face yarns and knitted in specific sequence. Electrical model of KRF is proposed to describe the behavior of sensing element. The developed KRF has high sensitivity to strain deformation and can be used as local strain sensor or distributed resistive sensing field to control deformation of human body parts, joint motion, respiration etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Plantar pressure measurement has been proven to produce crucial information for gait analysis. Socks with integrated textile pressure sensors are a promising tool for non-obtrusive plantar pressure acquisition and monitoring.Research Question: Can the DAid Pressure Socks System be employed for the measurement of plantar pressure and temporal parameters during walking?Method: Plantar pressure measurement was acquired simultaneously by the DAid Pressure Socks System (DPSS) and Pedar® insole measurement system for a normal walking gait of 17 volunteers. The measurement from both systems was processed and gait temporal parameters were calculated. The calculated temporal parameters included stride time, step time, stance time, swing time, single support time, double support time, and cadence. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was calculated to evaluate the agreement between the plantar pressure measurement and temporal parameters obtained from both systems.Results: For plantar pressure measurement, excellent agreement (ICC > 0.90) was achieved in approximately 23 % cases, while in roughly 37 %, 27 %, and 13 % cases the agreement was good (ICC > 0.75), moderate (ICC > 0.50), and poor (ICC < 0.50), respectively. The mean relative differences (as a percentage) between the temporal parameter values calculated from the measurement of both systems were 0.80 % (stride time), 3.06 % (step time), 3.15 % (stance time), 5.08 % (swing time / opposite single support time), 14.47 % (double support time), and 0.78 % (cadence).Significance: The ICC result calculated for the plantar pressure measurement indicated a reasonable agreement between both systems. Additionally, the relatively low mean difference was observed for 5 out of 6 calculated temporal gait parameters. Consequently, the presented DPSS could be considered as a substitute for the commercial gait analysis tools for applications that do not require great accuracy of the absolute plantar pressure measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]