{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,17]],"date-time":"2026-10-17T20:39:25Z","timestamp":1792269565010,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,10,20]],"date-time":"2017-10-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1508457600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Flexible pressure sensors are increasingly being used in medical and non-medical applications, and particularly in innovative health monitoring. Their efficacy in medical applications such as compression therapy depends on the accuracy and repeatability of their output, which in turn depend on factors such as sensor type, shape, pressure range, and conformability of the sensor to the body surface. Numerous researchers have examined the effects of sensor type and shape, but little information is available on the effect of human body parameters such as support surfaces\u2019 curvature and the stiffness of soft tissues on pressure sensing performance. We investigated the effects of body parameters on the performance of pressure sensors using a custom-made human-leg-like test setup. Pressure sensing parameters such as accuracy, drift and repeatability were determined in both static (eight hours continuous pressure) and dynamic (10 cycles of pressure application of 30 s duration) testing conditions. The testing was performed with a focus on compression therapy application for venous leg ulcer treatments, and was conducted in a low-pressure range of 20\u201370 mmHg. Commercially available sensors manufactured by Peratech and Sensitronics were used under various loading conditions to determine the influence of stiffness and curvature. Flat rigid, flat soft silicone and three cylindrical silicone surfaces of radii of curvature of 3.5 cm, 5.5 cm and 6.5 cm were used as substrates under the sensors. The Peratech sensor averaged 94% accuracy for both static and dynamic measurements on all substrates; the Sensitronics sensor averaged 88% accuracy. The Peratech sensor displayed moderate variations and the Sensitronics sensor large variations in output pressure readings depending on the underlying test surface, both of which were reduced markedly by individual pressure calibration for surface type. Sensor choice and need for calibration to surface type are important considerations for their application in healthcare monitoring.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s17102399","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,10,23]],"date-time":"2017-10-23T04:32:19Z","timestamp":1508733139000},"page":"2399","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":45,"title":["Flexible Sensors for Pressure Therapy: Effect of Substrate Curvature and Stiffness on Sensor Performance"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Iryna","family":"Khodasevych","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Fashion and Textiles, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne 3056, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Suresh","family":"Parmar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Fashion and Textiles, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne 3056, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9580-1553","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Olga","family":"Troynikov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Fashion and Textiles, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne 3056, Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,10,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1109\/TSMCC.2009.2032660","article-title":"A survey on wearable sensor-based systems for health monitoring and prognosis","volume":"40","author":"Pantelopoulos","year":"2010","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. Part C Appl. Rev."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"742","DOI":"10.7326\/0003-4819-144-10-200605160-00125","article-title":"Systematic review: Impact of health information technology on quality, efficiency, and costs of medical care","volume":"144","author":"Chaudhry","year":"2006","journal-title":"Ann. Intern. Med."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17472","DOI":"10.3390\/s131217472","article-title":"Data mining for wearable sensors in health monitoring systems: A review of recent trends and challenges","volume":"13","author":"Banaee","year":"2013","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1321","DOI":"10.1109\/JSEN.2014.2370945","article-title":"Wearable sensors for human activity monitoring: A review","volume":"15","author":"Mukhopadhyay","year":"2015","journal-title":"IEEE Sens. J."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"140","DOI":"10.1039\/C4MH00147H","article-title":"Advances of flexible pressure sensors toward artificial intelligence and health care applications","volume":"2","author":"Zang","year":"2015","journal-title":"Mater. Horiz."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3119","DOI":"10.1109\/JSEN.2014.2357257","article-title":"Recent advances in wearable sensors for health monitoring","volume":"15","author":"Rodgers","year":"2015","journal-title":"IEEE Sens. J."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Parmar, S., Bafekrpour, E., Fuss, F.K., and Troynikov, O. (2016, January 12\u201315). Design and characterization of flexible pressure sensors for integration in smart medical textiles. Proceedings of the 9th Textile Bioengineering and Informatics Symposium (TBIS 2016), Melbourne, Australia."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5028","DOI":"10.1038\/ncomms6028","article-title":"Continuous wireless pressure monitoring and mapping with ultra-small passive sensors for health monitoring and critical care","volume":"5","author":"Chen","year":"2014","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"Parmar, S., Bafekrpour, E., Fuss, F.K., and Troynikov, O. (2016, January 12\u201315). Evaluation of pressure sensors based on piezoresistive films for integration in smart medical textiles. Proceedings of the 9th Textile Bioengineering and Informatics Symposium (TBIS 2016), Melbourne, Australia."},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"Baranoski, S., and Ayello, E.A. (2008). Wound treatment options. Wound Care Essentials: Practice Principles, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. [2nd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"98","DOI":"10.1159\/000072240","article-title":"Medical elastic compression stockings in the treatment of venous insufficiency","volume":"Volume 31","author":"Elsner","year":"2003","journal-title":"Textiles and the Ski"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gaitpost.2016.01.026","article-title":"Validity and repeatability of three in-shoe pressure measurement systems","volume":"46","author":"Price","year":"2016","journal-title":"Gait Posture"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Figueiredo, J., Ferreira, C., Costa, L., Sep\u00falveda, J., Reis, L.P., Moreno, J.C., and Santos, C.P. (2017, January 26\u201328). In Instrumented insole system for ambulatory and robotic walking assistance: First advances. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Autonomous Robot Systems and Competitions (ICARSC), Coimbra, Portugal.","DOI":"10.1109\/ICARSC.2017.7964062"},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"Al Khaburi, J.A.J. (2010). Pressure Mapping of Medical Compression Bandages Used for Venous Leg Ulcer Treatment. [Ph.D. Thesis, University of Leeds]."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"795","DOI":"10.1177\/0954411916655184","article-title":"Pressure mapping with textile sensors for compression therapy monitoring","volume":"230","author":"Baldoli","year":"2016","journal-title":"Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part H J. Eng. Med."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rahimi, M., Blaber, A.P., and Menon, C. (2016, January 9\u201311). In Towards the evaluation of force-sensing resistors for in situ measurement of interface pressure during leg compression therapy. Proceedings of the IEEE Healthcare Innovation Point-Of-Care Technologies Conference (HI-POCT), Cancun, Mexico.","DOI":"10.1109\/HIC.2016.7797688"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"815","DOI":"10.1109\/TRO.2011.2119850","article-title":"Modeling and evaluation of low-cost force sensors","volume":"27","author":"Lebosse","year":"2011","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Robot."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dabling, J.G., Filatov, A., and Wheeler, J.W. (2012\u20131, January 28). In Static and cyclic performance evaluation of sensors for human interface pressure measurement. Proceedings of the IEEE Annual International Conference of the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, San Diego, CA, USA.","DOI":"10.1109\/EMBC.2012.6345896"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9391850","DOI":"10.1155\/2016\/9391850","article-title":"Force sensing resistor and evaluation of technology for wearable body pressure sensing","volume":"2016","author":"Giovanelli","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Sens."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Khaburi, J.A., Dehghani-Sanij, A.A., Nelson, E.A., and Hutchinson, J. (2011, January 7\u201310). In Measurement of interface pressure applied by medical compression bandages. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, Beijing, China.","DOI":"10.1109\/ICMA.2011.5985672"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21770","DOI":"10.3390\/s141121770","article-title":"An improved flexible telemetry system to autonomously monitor sub-bandage pressure and wound moisture","volume":"14","author":"Mehmood","year":"2014","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"657","DOI":"10.1016\/S1350-4533(00)00080-1","article-title":"Evaluation of a sensor for low interface pressure applications","volume":"22","author":"Hagisawa","year":"2000","journal-title":"Me\u0301d. Eng. Phys."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1687","DOI":"10.1243\/09544062JMES700","article-title":"Evaluation of thin, flexible sensors for time-resolved grip force measurement","volume":"221","author":"Komi","year":"2007","journal-title":"Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part C J. Mech. Eng. Sci."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"206","DOI":"10.1016\/j.medengphy.2017.06.017","article-title":"Evaluating and improving the performance of thin film force sensors within body and device interfaces","volume":"48","author":"Likitlersuang","year":"2017","journal-title":"Me\u0301d. Eng. Phys."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Parmar, S., Khodasevych, I., and Troynikov, O. (2017). Evaluation of flexible force sensors for pressure monitoring in treatment of chronic venous disorders. Sensors, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/s17081923"},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"Peratech Holdco Limited (2017, July 17). Peratech QTC\u00ae SP200 Series Datasheet Single Point Sensors. Available online: https:\/\/www.peratech.com\/assets\/uploads\/datasheets\/Peratech-QTC-DataSheet-SP200-Series-Nov15.pdf."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"Sensitronics Inc. (2017, July 17). Half Inch ThruMode FSR. Available online: http:\/\/www.sensitronics.com\/products-half-inch-thru-mode-fsr.php."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Troynikov, O., and Ashayeri, E. (2011, January 7\u20139). 3D body scanning method for close-fitting garments in sport and medical applications. Proceedings of the 47th Annual Conference of Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia (HFESA), Crows Nest, Australia.","DOI":"10.15221\/11.239"}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/17\/10\/2399\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T18:47:58Z","timestamp":1760208478000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/17\/10\/2399"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2017,10,20]]},"references-count":28,"journal-issue":{"issue":"10","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,10]]}},"alternative-id":["s17102399"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s17102399","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2017,10,20]]}}}