Bionic sensory insole technology for optimising sport performance and injury prevention in netball

Augmented Vibrotexture (vibration and texture) shoe insole design has the potential to enhance sensory input from the feet and optimise motor actions in athletic populations.

The project focuses on innovative bionic insole technology that is designed to improve transmission of tactile feedback along major sensory nerves (neural pathways) that carry signals about touch, vibration, and position sense (from the feet to the brain), to regulate balance and movement control.

The project will assess whether wearing insoles that deliver frequency tuned vibratory and geometrically optimised texture stimuli to the feet, alters postural control mechanisms and movement patterns in netball players, during actions that simulate match-play on the court.

The project also aims to determine whether Augmented Vibrotexture insoles can help to prevent lower limb injury, specifically ankle sprains, in netball players. This rationale is based on observations that sensory-stimulating insoles can alter foot position awareness and ankle movement variability, with potential to reduce the risk of ankle sprain.

The project outcomes will shift traditional paradigms in the field of footwear science, providing new perspective on how foot sensory stimulation alters motor circuits, allowing us to achieve enhanced sport performance through better-informed insole design.

The project will be undertaken in collaboration with international med-tech industry partners to develop the most optimal insole design, thereafter, with implementation of the insole technology in local- and state-level netball teams. Additionally, the project will accelerate the development of innovative sports footwear technology that has commercialisation potential.

The Centre for Neurorehabilitation, Ageing, and Balance (NAB) Research at The University of Queensland offers cutting-edge research facilities and a supportive training environment. The Centre for NAB Research provides access to two fully equipped gait laboratories containing all equipment to support the project including force plates, electronic walkways, motion capture system, high-density surface electromyography. Through the PhD advisory team members, the student will also be integrated into the Sports Injury Rehabilitation and Prevention for Health Research unit (The University of Queensland) and School of Clinical Sciences (Queensland University of Technology). The insole technology to be investigated in this project will be engineered by our European med-tech industry partner, Walk With Path (Copenhagen, London). The project also offers an opportunity to visit our UK collaborator, within a world class virtual simulation facility, to explore how netball players react to simulated match-play balance perturbations, when wearing Augmented Vibrotexture insoles. These collaborations provide potential student internships for career development in industry.