A novel 3D printed personalised insole for improvement of flat foot arch compression and recoil – preliminary study

Abstract

Conventional corrective insoles for flatfoot individuals traditionally utilise solid arch support to prevent the collapse of medial longitudinal arch. Such design restricts the foot arch compression and recoil in stance phase and increases the expanded energy during gait. In this study, a novel customised design insole was designed and manufactured using person's 3D foot scans. A novel elastic mesh pad was implemented in the mid-insole to replace the conventional solid arch support. The new insoles were tested in standard straight gait laboratory trials. The kinematic analysis showed that the novel insoles improved foot arch compression and recoil in stance phase with flatfooted individuals. Finally, the new insoles were provided to the participants to be habitually worn during a prolonged period of daily usage. The obtained gait analysis results and user feedback indicate strongly that the novel insoles provide improved comfort, static and dynamic balance, and arch support in stance phase. In summary, the new insoles show substantive potential in addressing the shortcomings of the widely used passive support ones while providing less restrictive and effective dynamic support.