NeuroStride: Teaching a foot to talk to the brain
Updated: 23 hours ago
Every 40 seconds, someone in the US has a stroke. Nearly 80% of survivors are left with weakness on one side of the body, and many end up walking unevenly. The brain shifts weight to the stronger side to avoid falling, and over time that becomes automatic. Undoing it can take years of physical therapy.
Here's the gap we kept noticing. Therapy happens a few times a week. Walking happens all day. Between appointments, nobody tells patients they're leaning, so the old pattern keeps getting stronger.
NeuroStride is a smart insole that gives feedback while you walk. Pressure and motion sensors track how weight moves across each foot. When it shifts too far to one side, small motors vibrate to prompt a correction. Repeat that thousands of times and the brain starts to relearn a balanced step.
NeuroStride's insole fits inside a normal shoe and is made up of three layers. The bottom layer contains the battery, microcontroller, and IMU sensors, which allow for accurate motion tracking. The middle layer includes the pressure sensors and haptic vibration motors that detect weight distribution and provide feedback. The top layer is a cushioned cover that provides comfort for the user while also protecting the components in the bottom two layers. The pressure and motion sensors track how weight is being distributed across each foot. A small microcontroller inside the insole analyzes the data in real time, comparing the left and right sides of the body. When the system detects that a user is favoring one side or walking unevenly, the insole gives the user gentle vibrations, reminding them to shift their weight and stabilize their movement. This allows users to practice correct walking patterns throughout the day, rather than unknowingly creating bad habits at home.
NeuroStride connects to an app that shows pressure maps and progress. Physical therapists can see the data too, so they know what to focus on at the next session. Users can turn the vibration down or off.
We started with Florida, which sits in the stroke belt, where stroke rates run about 1.5 times the national average.
I built NeuroStride with three teammates.
