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Vibrating Insoles

Discussion in 'General Issues and Discussion Forum' started by paulglazier, Jan 1, 2012.

  1. paulglazier

    paulglazier Member


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    Hello,

    Happy New Year to everyone.

    I have been reading some interesting research - most notably by James Collins' group at Boston University - on the application of stochastic resonance (SR) to the enhancement of human sensorimotor perception and performance. In particular, there have been a number of papers on the development of randomly vibrating insoles and how they can benefit balance and motion control. PDF copies of indicative references can be found here:

    Priplata et al. (2003)
    Harry et al. (2005)
    Hijmans et al. (2007)

    My question to this forum is: does anyone know whether these devices or similar have been made commercially available yet?
     

  2. I'm not aware of any commercialisation of such insoles yet. I've not read the research, so I don't know if a specific frequency is required. But it would be fairly easy to get these constructed using something like these:

    http://www.aliexpress.com/product-f...one-Pager-Motor-12mm-x-2-7mm-wholesalers.html

    Main issue is going to be power supply.
     
  3. Admin2

    Admin2 Administrator Staff Member

  4. paulglazier

    paulglazier Member

  5. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

    Articles:
    1
    Baseline-dependent effect of noise-enhanced insoles on gait variability in healthy elderly walkers.
    Stephen DG, Wilcox BJ, Niemi JB, Franz J, Casey Kerrigan D, D'Andrea SE.
    Gait Posture. 2012 Jun 25.
     
  6. Sicknote

    Sicknote Active Member

    This link doesn't seem to work.
     
  7. ed.ellis

    ed.ellis Member

    Update on vibration insoles. I was a consumer tester for a battery operated vibration insole called Solleve. Unfortunately the company no longer makes the product but I am still using them. As surmised earlier they are based on 4 coin shaped 10mm round pager motors and a speed controller with built in rechargeable batteries. I have to rewire and buy new motors because of course with insoles, you are walking on top of the wires. I also own another no longer made product Good Vibrations Shoes. I never used these because they did not come in my size and then after a month the batteries no longer held a charge. There is still information about these products on the internet. I have neuropathy of the feet and hands. The insoles provide a good measure of relief and greatly improve my balance.

    Now for the good news. I just ordered 2 products with vibrating insoles made by a Korean company. They have a puck shaped insert with "a vibration chip" in the heel of the sandal, shoe or insole that creates a vibration (no battery) when you walk or run. I will report on my experience with the insoles. The sandals ($30) are for my wife to test. You can do a search on the internet for MOOV or Motioninsoles. The sandals are available from Korea via eBay, listed under “vibration shoes”. The insoles were on eBay briefly but now are sold by a company based in the Vancouver area ($45), search the internet for IMOOV Vibrating Insoles.
     
  8. ed.ellis

    ed.ellis Member

    Update; received the insoles from Canada this week. The insoles are now available on Ebay listed under "vibrating insoles" North America. The sandals are stuck in LA US Customs. They are very interesting, tap on the heel part of the foot bed and the insoles vibrate like you tapped a 1 foot long spring. Since they came only in a smaller size I added additional length to the the toe area. They are also rather narrow. They are 11 1/8 inches long size 28.0 and 2 3/8 inches wide at the heel, 3 7/8 inches at mid foot. For me, someone with Neuropathy, the vibration is sub sensory. They are quite tall at the heel (5/8-3/4 tall) which makes them slightly unstable for a person with balance problems. I partially solved that problem by wearing negative heel shoes. I will wear them more next week and report on the progress. If the insoles don't work out I will install the vibrator in a pair of shoes.
     
  9. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

    Articles:
    1
    Using detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) to analyze whether vibratory insoles enhance balance stability for elderly fallers.
    Wang CC, Yang WH.
    Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2012 Nov-Dec;55(3):673-6
     
  10. ed.ellis

    ed.ellis Member

    The non battery powered insoles are described as follows;
    The iMOOV Vibrating Insoles have a vibration chip molded in the heel of the insoles.

    The chip thus creates vibrations in the feet and legs which is sensed by the whole body at a frequency of 10 – 12Hz.

    The iMOOV Vibrating Insoles chip requires no batteries or electricity or recharging of any kind. Vibration is created with walking or running.

    The minute you start moving your feet, the vibration massage starts.

    The vibrating chip is a patented eco-friendly product – there is nothing in this world that even comes remotely close to what iMOOV Vibrating Insoles do.

    Note about sizes:
    There are only two sizes, for Male and Female. Both come with the largest size.

    Male : 11.25 Inches
    Female: 10.00 inches

    On the bottom of each insole, you will see several rounded lines, it used to guide you cutting the front side of the insole so that it fits your shoes.

    They are available from http://vibratinginsoles.biz/ for $39 from BC Canada. Has anyone tried these besides me?

    I was selling the coin shaped 14mm pager motors on ebay but have sold my supply. Other local ebay sellers are listing 12mm motors. I wouldnot buy from China this week they are on New Years Holiday. They are not hard to install in insoles, add wires 2 AAA batteries a rheostat and you have a crude start.

    Good luck
    Ed
     
  11. ed.ellis

    ed.ellis Member

    Further update;

    The iMOOV insoles turned out to be too thick in my shoes which tended to make me more unstable. I switched to a pair of orthopedic shoes deep pocket shoes but they tend to heavier and made it harder for me to walk without tripping. Now a new company is on the scene with a different design.

    Vibra Thotics makes a pair of insoles that are controlled by a foot shaped remote control. The insoles feature multiple speeds and vibration types. The battery and electronics are contained in a rigid plastic pod that fits in the the bottom of the insole. Interestingly each insole is individually controlled so you can have different vibrations in each foot. They are on the thick side in order to accommodate the battery and electronics, but not as thick as the iMOOV. The cost is $79.95 at the website and of course Amazon .com

    http://vibrathotics.com

    I am really looking forward to testing these insoles.
     
  12. Paul Bowles

    Paul Bowles Well-Known Member

    ...and they make some amazing claims! Promotes circulation? Really I wonder how...Even when sitting (yes I seen the references and although I haven't read them I can almost guess that none of them will show a double blinded radomized control trial showing these innersoles and improved blood flow to the foot using them) Improves muscle tone as well as relaxing muscles at the same time..... gold stuff.... If only someone could work out how to put magnets as well as apricot seeds in them this thing would be an instant wonder product ! And according to Ed above they have no battery? But they have a remote with 16 different settings....but no battery...... really? Begs the question - do they really vibrate at a frequency you can feel?
     
  13. ed.ellis

    ed.ellis Member

    Forgive me if my update was not clear. There are at least 2 companies making vibrating insoles or shoes.

    The iMOOVE has no battery, it runs on chip that activates on movement and electrically changes it into vibrations, the make shoes and insole.

    Vibra Thotics makes a vibrating insole that runs on rechargeable batteries.

    Thanks
    Ed
     
  14. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

    Articles:
    1
    Sensory Enhancing Insoles Modify Gait During Inclined Treadmill Walking With Load.
    Miranda, Daniel L; Hsu, Wen-Hao; Petersen, Kelsey; Fitzgibbons, Stacey; Niemi, James; Lesniewski-Laas, Nicholas; Walsh, Conor J
    Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: November 24, 2015
     
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