ZIM - FitFeet

 

Goal of this ZIM-Project is to develop an orthopedic insole with a spiky surface which increases the blood flow and stimulates the feet muscles. Due to the increased blood flow the feeling of cold feet can be reduced. Furthermore with strenghtening the feet muscles a healthy arch of the foot can be regained which can help reducing foot pain. Additionaly the design of the insole considers a better airflow and sweat transfer between feet and shoe. Its purpse is to reduce foot odour and the development of microorganisms that can spread infections.

One major work package is to develop a material combination that is able to deliver the necessary performance (eg. stiffness high enough for the spikes) and being suitalbe for plastic injection molding. The other major work package is to create a digital model of the insole interacting with the walking person. This coupled finite element / multi-body simulation is the key element of this project. With its help an optimal distribution of varying spike shapes across the insole surface should be found. This kind of coupled finite element /multi-body simulation is also applied in other ZIM projects from SpGM, eg. SuPerHybridTurf and project iBack.