Newsletter - PFI Germany Start

More documents

Recommendations

Info

20 Newsletter RESEARCH Research Project on Injury Prevention Audible “Beep“ Warns of Impending Injury? Prolonged training at the limit frequently has painful consequences, as many a runner – whether crack athlete or “weekend warrior” – knows all too well. Sports injuries due to overuse or misloading are so common that they constitute a public health problem. Achilles tendon complaints are particularly common. That is why a research project has been initiated to develop technical solutions for injury prevention in running sports. The objective is to develop a concept for a “smart shoe” which would warn an athlete of impending danger of overuse and misloading and thus of possible injury. PFI and the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Stuttgart are collaborating in this project, which began in January 2013 and will be concluded at the end of 2014. “Wearable computing“, “smart clothes“ or “e-textiles“ are future-oriented products: luminous and heatable jackets or gloves and T-shirts with WiFi signal strength indicators are already available thanks to integrated electronic components. Such systems are gaining acceptance not only in lifestyle products; athletes have also come to value the advantages of integrated pulse and blood pressure measuring devices. The German Joint Industrial Research (IGF) programme exists to facilitate the low-risk commercialisation of such systems by SMEs without their own R&D departments rather than only by global players. The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology funds projects bridging fundamental research and industrial application though the IGF programme. IGF projects harness new technologies for an entire sector of industry to enhance the competitiveness of SMEs. “Intelligent” Shoe for Injury Prevention? Hobby and top athletes no longer rely solely on their subjective impression when selecting the load they subject themselves to in training. And even those who do not take their training to the limit make use of a “beeping” heart rate monitor to check their pulse. How about a shoe that can protect its wearer against a possibly long and frustrating injury break by beeping when danger threatens? Problems with the Achilles tendon are a classical consequence of overuse in runners. Shoe-based measures have so far failed to alleviate this problem. None of the tested modifi cations had a demonstrable clinical effect
in reducing overuse injuries. This called for a new approach: A “smart” or “intelligent” shoe could provide the solution, i.e. a shoe that warns athletes when they go beyond their personal limits and risk injury. PFI and the University of Stuttgart are now jointly developing a smart shoe concept in an IGF research project bearing the offi cial title ”Study of the Possible Integration of Modern Sensor Technology in Shoes for the Example of Avoiding Consequences of Overuse by Shoe-based Measures in Sport and Occupational Shoes – Sensor Control Running”. It was fi rst necessary to develop and test suitable measuring techniques and components for subsequent integration into the shoe. What Is Already Available and What Has to Be Developed Commercially available smart-shoe systems are only partly, if at all, suitable for gait analysis for running style optimisation. They only detect steps and positional data. They cannot provide information about individual load levels or about neuromuscular control. The system to be developed should permit the determination of individual anatomical characteristics and simultaneously offer the possibility of measuring the effects of changes to the shoe on the functional biomechanics of the ankle joint with the aim of preventing injury through overuse. Focus on Ankle Joint Axis, Impact Forces and Resulting Vibrations Individual anatomical variation of the ankle joint axes has frequently been discussed as a risk factor in the literature, but has never been considered in the modifi cation of running shoes. In 2006 scientists at the University of Stuttgart developed a method permitting non-invasive real-time in-vivo determination of the ankle joint axis in the fi eld. This new measuring technique allowed the fi rst observation of a statistical relationship between the individual joint anatomy (position of the joint axis) and the frequency of Achilles tendon problems in runners. 01.2013 Magazine of the Test and Research Institute Pirmasens A component discussed in the specialist literature which contributes to the occurrence of overuse injuries is the impact force acting on the heel which affects the entire lower extremity along the calf and thigh. In the past it was therefore attempted to minimise these impact forces by introducing larger damping systems in shoes. However, recent scientifi c fi ndings point to the positive effects of greater impact forces. Thus, a reduced stress on the Achilles tendon could be demonstrated during running on a hard surface with high impact forces. A measuring system permitting determination, during running, of the impact forces, the vibrations of the Achilles tendon, and the pronation and supination movements as well as the position of the axis (lower ankle axis) could make a crucial contribution to the development of preventative modifi cations of shoes. The dependence of the recorded data upon the individual position of the lower ankle axis could be determined with the aid of such a measuring system. In recent years, motion analysis has been used to determine the position of the subtalar joint axis. However, the measuring methods employed all require extensive equipment. The methods differ primarily with respect to the imaging technology and in the calculation of the position of the individual ankle axes. Because new data are so diffi cult to obtain, the 1969 in-vitro fi ndings of Isman and Inman are used to this day in research as standard values for the position of the lower ankle axis. (The paper can the retrieved by googling “R.E. Isman and V.T. Inman, Anthropometric Studies of the Human Foot and Ankle”. The laboratory study was performed in 1969 on the ankle bones of 46 cadavers.) 21
Page 1 and 2: Pirmasens-Winzeln Energy Park Forgi
Page 3 and 4: Research Audible “Beep“ Warns o
Page 5 and 6: PFI INTERNAL Interview with Manfred
Page 7 and 8: to broaden our stance. It is precis
Page 9 and 10: for-profi t research according to i
Page 11 and 12: PFI Fareast was audited by the Germ
Page 13 and 14: A new structure of the Biotechnolog
Page 15 and 16: Full-Service Offerings Much in dema
Page 17 and 18: By affi xing the CE mark the manufa
Page 19: Harmonised standards for PPE footwe
Page 23 and 24: EMG stands for electromyography. EM
Page 25 and 26: Differences in Individual Gaits In
Page 27 and 28: Greater Clarity: Which Material Has
Page 29 and 30: Improved Precision New Electric Ben
Page 31 and 32: Making Life Simpler Self-lacing Sho
Page 33 and 34: ought for the overall project in 20
Page 35 and 36: Detailed analysis revealed that dep
Page 37 and 38: Heat Requirements of Biorefi nery P
Page 39 and 40: This corresponds to the annual elec
Page 41 and 42: Supremely Successful Show PFI at BI
Page 43 and 44: CORNET Projects BIO-EOL The BIO-EOL
Page 45 and 46: Accu-meter Another area of expertis
Page 47 and 48: Above all, products or materials in
Page 49 and 50: Denmark Proposes Restrictions On 20
Page 51 and 52: Foaming agent H 2 N N O O N NH 2 Az
Page 53 and 54: The SVHC Candidate List (Substances
Page 55 and 56: are inoculated with a defi ned bact
Page 57 and 58: The result is a cleaning procedure
Page 59 and 60: The drawback of embedding the activ
Page 61 and 62: It could be demonstrated that the a

Newsletter - PFI Germany Start

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?