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Inspired by terrestrial animal foot structure and by conducting evidence-based foot anthropometry and biomechanical studies, the project aims to develop a bionic smart and functional footwear (BSFF) system for pregnant women via advanced 3D One-body seamless knitting technology, “hetero-knit’ structures, novel insole padding design and biosensory monitoring system, to dynamically adapt foot dimension and volume variations, enhance arch function and ankle support, improve plantar pressure distribution. Biosensory conductive weft knit-in and monitoring module will be fabricated to facilitate wears learning their foot health status and taking foot caring timely.

Pregnant women are commonly troubled with foot pain due to their increased weight and secretion of relaxin. Foot anatomic variations, such as dimensional increase and arch drop, swelling and weakened foot ligaments, influencing adversely foot health, comfort and postural stability. Currently, there is no suitable footwear available to tackle with these problems. The created BSFF system will fill in the gap of present pregnant women shoes market and provides an effective foot caring environment to relive foot pain and improve shoe’s wearing comfort. The new fabrication technologies will enrich technical textile industries and further extend them to wide applications in healthcare service fields.