Wireless footswitch and functional electrical stimulation apparatus

A shoe insole for use in functional electrotherapy, the shoe insole comprising:

• a cavity opening to its lower face and a wireless footswitch module located in said cavity,
• wherein said footswitch module comprises a load, force or pressure sensor, a microcontroller for receiving signals from the sensor indicating phase of walking and having a power-saving mode in which a microprocessor or core forming part of said microcontroller can be disabled while inputs continue to be active, a wireless transceiver in communication with the microcontroller for transmitting sensor state information, a battery for providing power and an accelerometer for monitoring user activity/inactivity and controlling entry of the microcontroller into working and power-saving modes.

A shoe insole having a cavity configured to provide an internal pocket open to a face of said insole, the cavity having a length greater than its width and being directed generally along the length of the insole, a segmented structure being slideably insertable into said cavity within it is removably retained, the segments being disposed along the cavity and housing a pressure sensor, sensor state monitoring circuits, a wireless transmitter and a coin cell or other battery, adjacent segments being electrically connected together and mechanically connected together by links configured to maintaining the spacing between segments while permitting flexion between adjacent segments under loads encountered during walking.