A Comparison of Characteristics of Improved Total Contact Insoles
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of two kinds of total contact insoles (TCI). Traditional TCI reflects the shape of foot, while deformed total contact insole(DTCI) was established basing on the shape of footprints on clay prototypes. A female experimenter was asked to exert different loadings on clay prototypes to make footprints. Shapes of the footprints have been recorded by a reverse engineering method. Force distribution results in given preconditions were reflected and recorded for quantified comparison. shapes of two total contact insoles were rebuilt under different loadings. Having deformation of different magnitude over each area as a reference, effect and possibility of further improvement have been explored. Our findings showed that insoles based on larger deformation can be utilized to redistribute peak pressure effectively under normal loading. The results indicates that DTCI in this study can be used as a more important tool in adjusting functions or comfort ratings of shoes.