New low-threshold gadgets and products are coming onto the market that can chart the health of people. With Fitbit you can, for example, see a lot of statistics about your movement pattern. Or a toothbrush that you can connect to your phone to see if you brush well and do not miss any spots. And your sleep pattern? This can also be made clear, for example with beddit, a band that you can attach to your bed.
Now there are also socks that can give direct information to the physiotherapist about movements of the lower body. These SoPhy (Socks for Physiotherapy) socks contain sensors that provide insight into the weight distribution, ankle movements and the position of the feet. The data from the socks are immediately visible to the physiotherapist in a video.
Treatment with smart socks
Video treatments already exist, but for physiotherapists, it is sometimes a challenge to always see subtle movements in these remote videos. The camera position must then be just right. Therefore
the SoPhy socks were developed, which in addition to only observing a patient in a video, also provide a schematic representation of the movement of the lower body.
With an appointment from a patient who wears the ‘smart socks’ with a physiotherapist, the patient performs various exercises, such as squats, walking and walking on the toes. The information that the socks give can then be used by the physical therapist to choose the right treatment.
Health care at home
With the arrival of all sorts of apps and gadgets, people have more and faster access to information about their own health. As a result, we also feel the responsibility to keep an eye on our health. They are a stick behind the door, but at the same time, the step to the doctor is a bigger step.